Editing Gainesville, Georgia (section)

==Geography==
[[File:River Forks Park.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Lake Lanier at River Forks Park]]
Gainesville is located in central Hall County at {{Coord|34|18|16|N|83|50|2|W|type:city}} (34.304490, -83.833897).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It is bordered to the southwest by the city of [[Oakwood, Georgia|Oakwood]]. [[Interstate 985]]/[[U.S. Route 23]] passes through the southern part of the city, leading southwest {{convert|54|mi}} to [[Atlanta]] and northeast {{convert|23|mi}} to [[Baldwin, Georgia|Baldwin]] and [[Cornelia, Georgia|Cornelia]]. [[U.S. Route 129]] runs through the east side of the city, leading north {{convert|24|mi}} to [[Cleveland, Georgia|Cleveland]] and southeast {{convert|21|mi}} to [[Jefferson, Georgia|Jefferson]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|87.7|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|82.7|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|5.0|km2|order=flip}}, or 5.75%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1331908| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Gainesville city, Georgia| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| access-date=May 16, 2017}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Nestled in the foothills of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], parts of Gainesville lie along the shore of one of the nation's most popular inland water destinations, [[Lake Lanier]]. Named after Confederate veteran, Georgia author and musician [[Sidney Lanier]], the lake was created in 1956 when the U.S. [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] dammed the [[Chattahoochee River]] near [[Buford, Georgia|Buford]] and flooded the river's valley. Although created primarily for hydroelectricity and flood control, it also serves as a reservoir providing water to the city of [[Atlanta]] and is a very popular recreational attraction for all of north Georgia.

Much of Gainesville is heavily wooded, with both [[deciduous]] and [[coniferous]] trees.

===Climate===
Much like the rest of northern Georgia, Gainesville has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Cfa''), with cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers.

{{Weather box
|location = Gainesville, Georgia (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1891–present)
|single line = Y
|width = auto
|Jan record high F = 79
|Feb record high F = 79
|Mar record high F = 88
|Apr record high F = 93
|May record high F = 98
|Jun record high F = 107
|Jul record high F = 107
|Aug record high F = 104
|Sep record high F = 105
|Oct record high F = 96
|Nov record high F = 86
|Dec record high F = 78
|year record high F = 
|Jan high F = 51.1
|Feb high F = 54.9
|Mar high F = 63.0
|Apr high F = 71.3
|May high F = 78.0
|Jun high F = 84.6
|Jul high F = 87.8
|Aug high F = 86.4
|Sep high F = 81.1
|Oct high F = 71.9
|Nov high F = 62.0
|Dec high F = 53.8
|Jan low F = 31.1
|Feb low F = 33.5
|Mar low F = 39.7
|Apr low F = 47.1
|May low F = 56.0
|Jun low F = 64.0
|Jul low F = 67.8
|Aug low F = 66.9
|Sep low F = 60.9
|Oct low F = 49.9
|Nov low F = 39.6
|Dec low F = 34.3
|Jan record low F = -8
|Feb record low F = -6
|Mar record low F = 7
|Apr record low F = 22
|May record low F = 33
|Jun record low F = 41
|Jul record low F = 49
|Aug record low F = 49
|Sep record low F = 34
|Oct record low F = 20
|Nov record low F = 4
|Dec record low F = -1
|year record low F = 
|rain colour    =  green
|Jan rain inch = 5.28
|Feb rain inch = 5.15
|Mar rain inch = 5.31
|Apr rain inch = 4.19
|May rain inch = 4.23
|Jun rain inch = 4.51
|Jul rain inch = 3.90
|Aug rain inch = 5.11
|Sep rain inch = 4.13
|Oct rain inch = 4.20
|Nov rain inch = 4.39
|Dec rain inch = 5.16
|snow colour    =
|Jan snow inch = 0.7
|Feb snow inch = 0.5
|Mar snow inch = 0.1
|Apr snow inch = 0
|May snow inch = 0
|Jun snow inch = 0
|Jul snow inch = 0
|Aug snow inch = 0
|Sep snow inch = 0
|Oct snow inch = 0
|Nov snow inch = 0
|Dec snow inch = 0.3
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name="NOAA">
{{cite web
| url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=ffc
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = November 17, 2021}}</ref>
}}

====Severe weather====
{{See also|Cooper Pants Factory fire}}
While Gainesville does not sit in [[Tornado Alley]], a region of the United States where severe weather is common, [[Supercell|supercell thunderstorms]] can sweep through any time between March and November, being primarily concentrated in the spring. Tornado watches are frequent in the spring and summer, with a warning appearing at least biannually, occasionally with more than one per year.

Tornado activity in the Gainesville area is above Georgia state average and is 108% greater than the overall U.S. average. Gainesville was the site of [[1903 Gainesville, Georgia tornado|a deadly F4 on June 1, 1903]], which killed 98 people. Gainesville was the site of the [[1936 Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak|fifth deadliest tornado in U.S. history]] in 1936,<ref>{{cite web|title=The 1936 Gainesville Tornado: Disaster and Recovery|url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/tornado/|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=1 June 2016}}</ref> in which Gainesville was devastated and 203 people were killed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html|title=25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes|website=www.spc.noaa.gov}}</ref> In [[1974 Super Outbreak|April 1974]], an F4 tornado 22.6 miles away from the Gainesville city center killed six people and injured thirty. In December 1973, an F3 tornado 2.1 miles away from the city center injured twenty-one people. Both storms caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in property damages. On [[1998 Gainesville-Stoneville tornado outbreak|March 20, 1998]], an F3 tornado impacted the Gainesville metro area early in the morning, killing 12 people and injuring 171 others. Another F3 tornado later that day killed 2 other people and injured a further 27 people in the [[Stoneville, North Carolina|Stoneville]] area.