The temperature hit a record high for the date in Gainesville Saturday and tied or broke records in at least two other places in Georgia. Forecasters had cautioned a week ago that records would probably fall around the state this week.
The Gainesville record – 99 – was set at the National Weather Service (NWS) Station at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. At the same time, the heat index hit 101 – the highest for the day and the week. The old record high for the date was 97 which was set in 1938, according to NWS records.
Records were tied or fell in Athens and Macon on Saturday. Macon’s 104 broke a record of 101 set in 1998. Athens hit 99, tying the previous record set in 2007.
As for Friday’s hot temperatures and fear of heat-related illnesses at Hall County’s two high school football games Friday night, school system spokesman Stan Lewis said Saturday he was unaware of any that occurred during the games. At 7:30 the kickoff for one of the games, Cherokee Bluff/Adairsville, the temperature at the airport was 92. The start of the other game – Johnson/West Hall – had been moved back to 8:00. It was 89 at that time.
What can we expect next week? A big change. The NWS forecast as of Saturday night was calling for highs in the upper 70s and low 80s Monday-Saturday following a 92 on Sunday. In addition, rain is forecast Sunday-Friday.
But, until then, remember that a heat advisory remains in place through Sunday for most of Georgia, including Hall and a number of adjacent counties.