Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Geography of Atlanta
The Geography of Atlanta encompasses 132.4 square miles (342.9 km2), of which 131.7 sq mi (341 km2) is land and 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2) is water. The city is situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and at 1,050 feet (320 m) above mean sea level, Atlanta has the highest elevation among major cities east of the Mississippi River. Atlanta straddles the Eastern Continental Divide, such that rainwater that falls on the south and east side of the divide flows into the Atlantic Ocean, while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River, which is part of the ACF River Basin. Located at the far northwestern edge of the city, much of the river's natural habitat is preserved, in part by the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
The climate of Atlanta and its metropolitan area is humid subtropical (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with four seasons including hot, humid summers and cool winters that are occasionally cold by the standards of the southern United States; the city and its immediate suburbs are located in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8a, although the far northern suburbs begin to transition to Zone 7b.
Summers are long and consistently hot and humid. The daily average temperature in July is 80.2 °F (26.8 °C), with temperatures occasionally exceeding 100 °F or 37.8 °C, and slight breezes, and typically a 20–40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. During the summer afternoon thunderstorms, temperatures may suddenly drop below 85 °F or 29.4 °C with locally heavy rainfall.
January averages 43.3 °F or 6.3 °C, with temperatures in the suburbs slightly cooler. Warm, maritime air can bring springlike conditions while strong Arctic air masses can push lows to between 20 and 10 °F (−6.7 and −12.2 °C). Snow may not occur in every season in the city and inner suburbs but does every season in the northern metro. When snow falls it is almost always during the period of December through March: there have occurred only three measurable falls outside these months in the past ninety years, the largest being 1.0 inch or 2.5 centimetres on November 11, 1968.
Typical of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year, though spring and early fall are markedly drier. Average annual rainfall is about 49.7 inches (1,260 mm), with late winter and early spring (as well as July) being the wettest and fall (especially October) being the driest. Despite having far fewer rainy days, average yearly rainfall is higher here than in the Seattle area, especially due to heavy thunderstorms and occasional tropical depressions.
Temperatures at or above 90 °F (32.2 °C) now occur on 44 days per year (up from 37 previously); though there have been as many as 91 days in 2019, and as few as 2 days in 1967. Overnight freezes can be expected on 40 days, but the high temperature rarely fails to climb above the freezing mark. In very cold winter months with high-latitude blocking, averages can occasionally fall below freezing: the coldest month was January 1977 which averaged 29.3 °F (−1.5 °C) and which amazingly saw Atlanta average 2.7 °F (1.5 °C) colder than Anchorage, Alaska, almost 30 degrees latitude further north. The only other month with a subfreezing mean has been January 1940 with an average of 29.6 °F (−1.3 °C) and a record cold mean maximum of 38.0 °F (3.3 °C).
Snowfall averages 2.9 inches (7.4 cm) per season. The heaviest single storm brought 8.3 in (21 cm) on January 23, 1940, the most snow in one calendar day, and the most in a calendar month; the most snowfall in a season (July 1 through June 30 of the next year) is 10.9 in (28 cm) in 1935–36. True blizzards are rare but possible; the Storm of the Century, which affected the region on March 12–14, 1993, is one such example, bringing snowdrifts up to 6 ft (1.8 m) high in some parts of north Georgia. Ice storms usually cause more trouble than does snowfall; the most severe such storms may have occurred on January 7, 1973, and January 9, 2011. In 2010, Atlanta had its first White Christmas since 1882 and 1883. Later that same winter (the third-coldest ever), a major snow-and-ice storm almost prevented the inauguration of the new governor of Georgia, and crippled the region for two days, with snow still left more than a week later in some places.
Official weather recordkeeping began in Atlanta in 1878, on the morning of October 3. Since then, the highest recorded temperatures at Atlanta were 106 °F (41 °C) on June 30, 2012; the hottest month on record is August 2007, with a mean temperature of 85.6 °F (29.8 °C). The lowest recorded temperatures were −6 °F (−21.1 °C) and −8 °F (−22.2 °C) on January 20 and 21 of 1985, and −9 °F (−22.8 °C) on February 13, 1899. There was also an official recording of −10 °F (−23.3 °C) in 1985 in Marietta. The coldest high temperature was 7 °F (−13.9 °C), again on February 13, 1899, while, conversely, the hottest low temperature was 82 °F (27.8 °C) on August 8, 2007.
Hub AI
Geography of Atlanta AI simulator
(@Geography of Atlanta_simulator)
Geography of Atlanta
The Geography of Atlanta encompasses 132.4 square miles (342.9 km2), of which 131.7 sq mi (341 km2) is land and 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2) is water. The city is situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and at 1,050 feet (320 m) above mean sea level, Atlanta has the highest elevation among major cities east of the Mississippi River. Atlanta straddles the Eastern Continental Divide, such that rainwater that falls on the south and east side of the divide flows into the Atlantic Ocean, while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River, which is part of the ACF River Basin. Located at the far northwestern edge of the city, much of the river's natural habitat is preserved, in part by the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
The climate of Atlanta and its metropolitan area is humid subtropical (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with four seasons including hot, humid summers and cool winters that are occasionally cold by the standards of the southern United States; the city and its immediate suburbs are located in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8a, although the far northern suburbs begin to transition to Zone 7b.
Summers are long and consistently hot and humid. The daily average temperature in July is 80.2 °F (26.8 °C), with temperatures occasionally exceeding 100 °F or 37.8 °C, and slight breezes, and typically a 20–40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. During the summer afternoon thunderstorms, temperatures may suddenly drop below 85 °F or 29.4 °C with locally heavy rainfall.
January averages 43.3 °F or 6.3 °C, with temperatures in the suburbs slightly cooler. Warm, maritime air can bring springlike conditions while strong Arctic air masses can push lows to between 20 and 10 °F (−6.7 and −12.2 °C). Snow may not occur in every season in the city and inner suburbs but does every season in the northern metro. When snow falls it is almost always during the period of December through March: there have occurred only three measurable falls outside these months in the past ninety years, the largest being 1.0 inch or 2.5 centimetres on November 11, 1968.
Typical of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year, though spring and early fall are markedly drier. Average annual rainfall is about 49.7 inches (1,260 mm), with late winter and early spring (as well as July) being the wettest and fall (especially October) being the driest. Despite having far fewer rainy days, average yearly rainfall is higher here than in the Seattle area, especially due to heavy thunderstorms and occasional tropical depressions.
Temperatures at or above 90 °F (32.2 °C) now occur on 44 days per year (up from 37 previously); though there have been as many as 91 days in 2019, and as few as 2 days in 1967. Overnight freezes can be expected on 40 days, but the high temperature rarely fails to climb above the freezing mark. In very cold winter months with high-latitude blocking, averages can occasionally fall below freezing: the coldest month was January 1977 which averaged 29.3 °F (−1.5 °C) and which amazingly saw Atlanta average 2.7 °F (1.5 °C) colder than Anchorage, Alaska, almost 30 degrees latitude further north. The only other month with a subfreezing mean has been January 1940 with an average of 29.6 °F (−1.3 °C) and a record cold mean maximum of 38.0 °F (3.3 °C).
Snowfall averages 2.9 inches (7.4 cm) per season. The heaviest single storm brought 8.3 in (21 cm) on January 23, 1940, the most snow in one calendar day, and the most in a calendar month; the most snowfall in a season (July 1 through June 30 of the next year) is 10.9 in (28 cm) in 1935–36. True blizzards are rare but possible; the Storm of the Century, which affected the region on March 12–14, 1993, is one such example, bringing snowdrifts up to 6 ft (1.8 m) high in some parts of north Georgia. Ice storms usually cause more trouble than does snowfall; the most severe such storms may have occurred on January 7, 1973, and January 9, 2011. In 2010, Atlanta had its first White Christmas since 1882 and 1883. Later that same winter (the third-coldest ever), a major snow-and-ice storm almost prevented the inauguration of the new governor of Georgia, and crippled the region for two days, with snow still left more than a week later in some places.
Official weather recordkeeping began in Atlanta in 1878, on the morning of October 3. Since then, the highest recorded temperatures at Atlanta were 106 °F (41 °C) on June 30, 2012; the hottest month on record is August 2007, with a mean temperature of 85.6 °F (29.8 °C). The lowest recorded temperatures were −6 °F (−21.1 °C) and −8 °F (−22.2 °C) on January 20 and 21 of 1985, and −9 °F (−22.8 °C) on February 13, 1899. There was also an official recording of −10 °F (−23.3 °C) in 1985 in Marietta. The coldest high temperature was 7 °F (−13.9 °C), again on February 13, 1899, while, conversely, the hottest low temperature was 82 °F (27.8 °C) on August 8, 2007.