Out of an abundance of caution for the potential effects of the winter storm passing through the state of Georgia on Friday, schools and government entities in Washington County made alterations to their schedules on Thursday.
According to the Washington County Emergency Management Agency, the county is under a winter weather advisory from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
Predictions call for the possibility of mixed winter precipitation including sleet and freezing rain in the morning hours. As the storm continues into the afternoon, the precipitation is expected to transition to rain as the temperature rises.
Local safety officials are most concerned for motorists, as rain in freezing temps leads to the possibility of iced-over roadways and hazardous driving conditions. Drivers are encouraged to exercise extreme caution.
On Thursday, Washington County Public Schools made the announcement that students would shift to at-home learning for Friday. Students were given online assignments to complete today.
All weekend extracurricular activities and transportation services were cancelled.
Normal operations and classes are expected to resume on Monday.
Brentwood School, Glascock County Public Schools, and Oconee Fall Line Technical College also cancelled classed for today. All institutions announce re-openings for Monday.
Additionally, weather permitting, Washington County and City of Sandersville non-emergency offices are observing a delayed opening on Friday. County and city offices will open to the public at 11:00 a.m.
Statewide, Governor Brian Kemp has issued a State of Emergency through Tuesday, January 14 to activate the State Operations Center. Among other provisions, the State of Emergency order also prohibits price gouging; suspends hours-of-service limitations for commercial vehicle operators involved in response activities; and temporarily increases weight, height, and length limits for commercial vehicles transporting essential supplies.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) applied brine across most all major roads and routes in east-central Georgia on Thursday.
Brine is a solution of salt and water used to decrease the probability of precipitation freezing on roadways during certain conditions.
While North Georgia may receive 2 to 4 inches of snow accumulation and the more northern portions of the state are set to receive the worst of the freezing rain, central Georgia is still expected to see inconveniences caused by the weather.
Temperatures will be near or below freezing between the onset of the wintry precipitation on Friday morning through sunset on Saturday.
With temps set to drop into the lower 20’s on Saturday night, any remaining moisture will refreeze by Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon temperatures should reach the 40’s.
Increasing winds on Saturday could also assist any sleet and frozen rain in bringing down trees and power lines.
Ice accumulation increases the weight of a tree branch by 30 times. Accumulation on a span of power lines increases by up to 500 pounds.