Two storm systems moved through Georgia in January like bookends to the month.
The day after former President Jimmy Carter was laid to rest, the ground froze, and Georgians enjoyed a rare weekend of winter. A cold air mass fixed across the region and combined with an area of low pressure, bringing then-Gulf of Mexico moisture into Georgia.
Atlanta set a record snowfall of 2.1 inches, which broke the old record of 1.3 inches set in 1953.
As inches of snow blanketed much of the state, the incoming leader of the free world was sentenced on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to an adult film star.
My husband, son and dog drove to the park to play in the snow. Something felt off with me, but I couldn’t explain it or control it. My son made friends with a college student who built a snowman like he was raised in a northern state.
I watched the moon peak out from behind a cloud as I walked the dog around the paved track that circled the field.
Impressed at their creation, I photographed the frozen snow punk, and we offered the student a ride home. He lived walking distance from the park, as we did, but we brought the Chevy Tahoe in case our pup couldn’t take the ice.
All day, the temperature hovered around freezing, hitting a high of 34 degrees in the afternoon sun. The moving ball of heat melted the fluffy powder and allowed water to refreeze as treacherous ice. By Sunday morning, the trees shook off icicles like shower water cascading to the ground.
The Wolf Moon appeared that evening and reached peak illumination at 5:27 p.m. Monday January 13.
The first full moon of the year was named for the wolves heard howling in packs on the outskirts of villages in Native American culture.
The moonlight hung on into Wednesday morning and left us warmer mid-month before another record snowfall of 1.1 inches was set in both Atlanta and Savannah on January 21.
But we in Woodstock did not see that snow.