Folks in north Fulton County have been breaking out their sweaters over the past few days, bracing for cold weather.
The next season of Game of Thrones may not air until 2019, but now is an appropriate time to say: Winter is coming.
Still, it’s nowhere near as cold in north Fulton County as it was in 1985, when on one day, temperatures fell to -10 degrees in Alpharetta.
Looking at data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regional climate centers, the AJC gathered a list of the most extreme weather in Alpharetta, where the administration has a station. All of the data can be accessed by clicking here.
Coldest days: Since Oct. 1, 1901 – the earliest date the NOAA has data for Alpharetta – the city has had 15 days in its history where temperatures dipped below zero degrees. These are days where not even a polar bear would've taken a stroll along the shops at Avalon.
The coldest day in Alpharetta came on Jan. 21, 1985, where -10 degrees was recorded. This was during a winter cold wave, and the National Weather Service called it "one of the most intense arctic outbreaks of the 20th century." Wind chills in Washington, D.C. forced the inauguration parade for President Ronald Reagan's second term to be canceled.
Other cold days in Alpharetta included a pair of January days in 1963, where temperatures dipped down to -6. Since 1996, the coldest it’s been in Alpharetta was 9 degrees, hitting twice in 2009.
READ: What's up with that castle in North Fulton?
READ: How more than 90 horses found shelter from a hurricane in Alpharetta
Total snowfall: Alpharetta was hit with seven inches of snow in January of 1904. Almost 60 years later, in January of 1962, the city received six inches of snow.
Total precipitation: On Sept. 22, 2009, 9.91 inches of rain came down on Alpharetta. This was during what the national weather service calls the "Catastrophic Atlanta Flood" where 10 people in the metro Atlanta area were killed and $500 million in damage was done from the flood.
Hottest day: Temperatures sky rocketed up to 102 degrees on July 22, 1986. Three times in 2007 thermometers got up to 100 degrees in Alpharetta but never reached that high again.
MORE WEATHER...
About the Author
