Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Milan, GA

SHORT TERM
(Today through Sunday)
Issued at 354 AM EST Sat Jan 17 2026

The short term forecast period will focus on two rounds of active weather; one this morning and over the course of the day and another tonight and into Sunday. They are detailed below:

Today:

As the morning begins, a low pressure system centered over the north- central Great Lakes is extending a cold front through the Ohio Valley region and southward towards the northwest Georgia border.
Meanwhile, a mid-level shortwave will rotate around the southwest side of the low, through the Midwest and towards the middle Mississippi RIver Valley region. The movement of this shortwave will give the frontal boundary some additional push from behind and help it continue advancing south and east this morning. Modest moisture return in the southwesterly flow ahead of the front has been sufficient for dewpoints to climb into the mid 30s to low 40s and precipitable water values to increase to between 0.6-0.8 inches. A band of showers is ongoing in far north Georgia ahead of the front, though these showers will weaken and become more scattered over the course of the day as forcing ahead of the front weakens. QPF associated with this system will be fairly light, between 0.25-0.5 inch in the far northern tier, between 0.1-0.25 inch elsewhere to the north of I-85, and fairly negligible to the south.

In the higher elevations of far north Georgia, mainly above 2000 ft, precipitation is expected to transition to a light rain/snow mix as temperatures drop to the mid 30s to near freezing. These showers could briefly transition to all snow in the coldest hours of the morning. The most likely window over which wintry precipitation will occur is between 4 AM and 8 AM this morning, after which point the axis of precipitation will exit the mountains to the south. Snow accumulations at these higher elevations are forecast to range from a trace to 0.5 inch. A look at the latest NBM probabilistic guidance indicates a 30-50% chance of snowfall totals greater than 0.1 inch above 2000 ft, and a 10-30% chance of snowfall totals greater than 0.5 inches at the highest peaks. Snowfall totals of greater than 0.5 inch appear to be unlikely aside from isolated locations. This snow could lead to minor travel difficulties in the mountains. However, spotty areas of black ice are also possible where standing water is able to freeze, mainly on less-traveled secondary roads. A Special Weather Statement is in effect for Murray, Gilmer, Fannin, Dawson, Union, Lumpkin, White, and Towns counties until 8 AM.

By the late morning, precipitation should transition to all rain as the front and diminishing showers move into central Georgia. Highs on Saturday will largely be in the mid to upper 40s in the mountains, low to mid 50s elsewhere in north Georgia, and upper 50s to low 60s in central Georgia.

Tonight and Sunday:

The period overnight through Sunday morning is continuing to shape up to be the more widespread and impactful of these two rounds.

By tonight, mid-level troughing will continue to build southward into the Southeast and into the northern Gulf. For the sensible weather in north and central Georgia, this strong positively-tilted trough will have two effects. First, it will advance a second cold front southward from the lower Midwest into north Georgia. Second, it will develop a weak surface low just off the central Gulf coast, which will spread moisture northward towards central Georgia. Thus, major challenge over this forecast period is twofold: to determine the northward extent of precipitation on the north side of the low and how quickly the cold front will advance southward through the forecast area. The overlap between precipitation to the north of the low and near to below freezing temperatures behind the front will determine the area and time that wintry precipitation will occur.

The latest model guidance continues to indicate the onset of rain for central and southwest Georgia shortly before midnight. This rain will then spread north and east through early Sunday. Then, in the early morning hours on Sunday, between 3 AM and 5 AM, models show temperatures dropping below freezing to the south of the Atlanta metro area hinting at the passage of the front. A transition to a wintry mix or wet snow can then be expected on the northern side of the precipitation shield where the moisture encounters the cold air behind the front. Over the next several hours on Sunday morning, temperatures in the low to mid 30s will spread south, with the transition from rain to a wintry mix or wet snow working its way southward through the rain shield. The area of light snow/mix will hold until around noon on Sunday, at which point the surface low will meander eastward with the remaining precipitation to the north exiting the forecast area to the east.

The focus for snow continues to be to the south of the I-85 corridor. Latest ensemble guidance continues the trend of favoring central and portions of east Georgia, though it is worth mentioning that some hi-res solutions have trended to the north and west, indicating a trace of snow as far north as the south Atlanta metro to Athens. The axis of heaviest snow is currently forecast south and east of a rough line from Columbus to Macon to Warrenton. Here, snow accumulations are forecast to range from 0.25 to 0.5 inch, though it will also be possible for isolated locations to see as much as 1 inch. Probabilistic guidance has trended lower then the previous forecast, with the NBM 90th percentile (reasonable worst-case) now showing 1.5-2 inch in areas of central Georgia to the south and east of Macon. Thus, snowfall amounts exceeding 2 inches exceeding 2 inches appear to be unlikely at this time. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for portions of central Georgia and will be in effect from 3 AM until 12 PM on Sunday.

All that said, there are a lot of moving parts. Ample uncertainty remains with respect to snow amounts and potential footprint of snow on Sunday morning, which will need to be monitored in ensuing forecast updates. It remains possible that warm, southerly flow ahead of the system could keep portions of east and central Georgia too warm for snow. On the other hand, it is also possible that latent cooling of snow falling through a near surface dry layer could cause reinforcing feedback and a more intense snowfall in some locations. Furthermore, the available moisture and northward extend of precipitation will depend on the position, strength, and evolution of the surface low, which itself will depend on the strength of the trough and how far south it is able to dig. Finally, changes in the movement of the cold front could make the difference between a location seeing snow, or all rain before precip comes to an end. All of the above could necessitate changes to the existing Winter Weather Advisory, so stay tuned for forecast updates.

LONG TERM
(Sunday night through Friday)
Issued at 354 AM EST Sat Jan 17 2026

The long term periods begin on the heels of the exiting frontal system from the short term. Temps Monday morning will dip down into the 20s with some teens in the north GA mountains. Any precipitation that did not have time to dry off the roadways from Sundays frontal system will freeze overnight causing black ice and dangerous driving conditions Monday morning. Temperature do rebound Monday with highs in the 40s and 50s across the area. Dry conditions are expected to prevail Monday through Wednesday as high pressure builds into the region and dominates the weather pattern. Tuesday and Wednesday will bear watching as afternoon relative humidity values are expected to tank into the 15% to 25% range. With winds in the 5-10mph range each day, conditions could be setting the stage for potential issuances of Fire Danger Statements. If gustier conditions are realized either day, Fire Weather Watches or Red Flag Warnings would not be out of the question.

The next chance of precip we will see appears to be Thu. The models are showing a wave developing along the TX/MX Gulf coast Wed, moving NE knocking on Georgia's western border right around daybreak Thu.
Right now it looks like it moves east across the state Thu as mostly rain but some locations across the north GA mountains could see some freezing/frozen precip Thu evening through daybreak Fri.

AVIATION
(18Z TAFS)
Issued at 1249 PM EST Sat Jan 17 2026

Snow is the main aviation concern over the next 24 hours, with the greatest impacts expected at KMCN (accumulations possible).
Snow could occur at the other TAF sites, but accumulations are unlikely (<20% chance). Ceilings will fall with the rain and snow, and widespread IFR/MVFR conditions should occur between 02Z and 16Z Sunday. Winds will continue to be from the west/northwest with occasional gusts in the 18 to 25 kt range expected after 15Z Sunday.

//ATL Confidence
18Z Update
Low confidence in the occurrence of snow between 07Z and 12Z Sunday.
High confidence in no significant snow accumulations.
High confidence in wind forecast.
Moderate confidence in the ceiling forecast.

Albright

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS
Athens 54 31 41 26 / 40 60 30 0 Atlanta 53 30 40 27 / 30 40 10 0 Blairsville 46 20 34 18 / 20 20 0 0 Cartersville 52 26 40 23 / 10 20 0 0 Columbus 57 32 44 25 / 50 60 30 0 Gainesville 51 31 39 27 / 30 30 10 0 Macon 58 32 44 24 / 40 90 60 0 Rome 55 28 44 25 / 10 10 0 0 Peachtree City 54 28 42 24 / 40 50 20 0 Vidalia 63 35 44 26 / 10 90 90 0

FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM to noon EST Sunday for GAZ059>062-069-071>076-079>086-089>098-102>113.