VALDOSTA — 2023 is going out with a cool spell, according to forecasters.
Temperatures began dropping Wednesday after a cold front moved through South Georgia, with meteorologists expecting Valdosta’s high temperatures mostly in the 50s through the end of this week with overnight lows in the lower 30s. Temperatures are expected to warm a bit over the weekend and hit the upper 60s on New Year’s Day Monday.
Skies over South Georgia are expected to be clear; the front that came through earlier in the week was pretty dry, said Bob Larson, senior meteorologist with the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.com.
The front was “colder but nothing excessive,” he said.
South Georgia has not had any deep-freeze pipe-bursting cold nights this winter, but the upcoming months are more likely to see such temperatures, said Molly Merrifield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office.
Valdosta’s December temperatures to date are 4.5 degrees higher than the historical averages, Larson said.
On the other hand, December was pretty wet. Larson said an average December in the Azalea City brings about 2 inches of rain, but the past month clocked in with 7.5 inches, three times normal.
Both forecasters said little to no rain is expected over the next week, except possibly a couple of showers Monday.
Another cold front is expected to pass through the region Tuesday, cooling things off again, the meteorologists said.
Neither forecaster foresaw any chance of severe weather in the next few days.