How many inches of snow did Atlanta get? Internet in disbelief as city finds itself in the midst of another 'snowpocalypse'

A major snowstorm is reportedly heading towards areas in north Georgia, including Atlanta and the Upstate of South Carolina. The winter storm began affecting the Southern region on Friday morning (January 10, 2025) before heading towards the northern parts.

According to FOX Weather, a third inch of ice has accumulated in Atlanta and South Carolina regions in Georgia. The northern part of metro Atlanta witnessed two to four inches of snow. Ice-cold rains and freezing weather are also expected. The winter storm alerts have been indicated in areas including Texas, the Virginias, the Midwest, and the Great Lakes in the north.

The snowstorm has left multiple netizens in shock as the weather conditions heavily resemble the January 2014 'snowpocalypse' or 'snowmageddon.' The dangerous snow storms affected traffic across Atlanta and other areas of Georgia.

"Atlanta is looking like Greenland with all this snow," a user exclaimed on X.

"one year of manifestation and it finally snows in atlanta," another user remarked.

According to the Arkansas Department of Transportation, windy road conditions and the snow have caused multiple traffic accidents and spinouts since January 10 morning. There have been statewide reports of weather-related accidents across the state of Georgia, including on interstates 30, 40, and 555.

FOX Weather meteorologist Jane Minar reported on Friday, January 10, that around seven inches of snow has already fallen in Little Rock, Arkansas. As much as a foot of snow is expected in certain parts of Arkansas by the end of the storm, per FOX Weather. Meanwhile, five to eight inches of snow is expected in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Five states, namely Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina, have declared a state of emergency due to the weather.

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What was the 'snowpocalypse' in Atlanta in January 2014?

Atlanta was affected by a snowpocalypse in 2014(Image via Getty)

On January 28 and 29, 2014, Atlanta was affected by a major snowstorm, often dubbed by locals as a snowpocalypse or snowmageddon. The city experienced one to three inches of snowfall, with traffic disrupted, roads shut down, and weather alerts put forward in various regions.

In an interview with Weather.com, some citizens who witnessed the 2014 snowpocalypse in the city shared their memories of the weather. One such witness, Chris Dolce, who worked as a meteorologist with The Weather Channel at that time, recalled the conditions.

"The amount of snow wasn’t all that unusual, with the forecast calling for 1 to 2 inches. What was unusual is the temperature being solidly below freezing, which means the snow was easily able to accumulate on roads, even though it was daytime," he said.

He added:

"Many times snowfall in Atlanta that falls in the daytime comes with marginally cold temperatures, which instead leads to wet roads or some slush, resulting in less of a travel headache."

According to 11Alive, multiple children across the city remained stuck for hours during the snowstorm. The precarious weather conditions also halted traffic across the city.

The situation had worsened because the emergency management team in Atlanta did not take the weather warnings seriously. Schools remained open on January 28, and the then-Governer, Nathan Deal, also attended a meeting that morning. The National Weather Service had notably issued a warning nine hours before the snowstorm hit the city.

Nathan Deal's deputy chief of staff, Brian Robinson, recalled the reasons behind the decision to keep public places open back in 2014 in an interview with 11alive. He said:

"We came back up, and the apocalypse had already hit. Everything was jammed. It took us an hour to get back to the capitol, which was less than a mile away."

Robinson added that a shutdown order was not an automatic call they took and explained:

"The sense that the state must make on the front end is, do we shut down a massive economy? If it’s going to end up being a few snowflakes, that’s not that big of a deal?"

After the snowstorm took a turn for the worse, affecting multiple citizens, Nathan Deal apologized, and the emergency management director resigned. A similar forecast arrived two weeks later, but Deal immediately shut down the government as a precautionary measure. Since then, serious weather alerts have always led to similar precautionary measures.

The current snowstorm affecting Georgia has also led to strong precautions, with schools shut down and alerts overseen well in advance. Multiple flights heading to Atlanta or taking off from the city have been canceled. More than 400 flights scheduled to take off from the Hartsfield-Jackson airport, considered the nation's busiest, have been canceled.

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The storm is expected to move off to the East Coast by Friday (January 10) evening.