Winter storm warning issued for north Georgia, winter advisory for metro Atlanta

ATLANTA — Dangerously cold weather in north Georgia will soon be joined by more winter weather including possible snow and ice.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for north Georgia and a winter storm advisory for most of metro Atlanta on Thursday.

Meteorologist Karen Minton said temperatures will drop into the teens again and a wind chill warning remains in effect for the north Georgia mountains until Friday morning.

The winter storm warning covers areas north of a line from Rome to Athens starting at 4 p.m. and continuing until 1 p.m. Saturday.

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"Two to three inches of snowfall and up to a quarter-inch accumulation of ice are possible," Burns said. He also warned of dangerous travel conditions, downed trees and power outages.

The winter storm warning includes Banks, Bartow, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dawson, Fannin, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Murray, Pickens, Towns, Union and White counties.

A winter weather advisory also goes into effect Friday afternoon for Barrow, Carroll, Clarke, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Greene, Gwinnett, Haralson, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Polk, Rockdale and Walton counties.

Those areas could see up to an inch of snow and a glaze of ice.

"We think there's going to be much more sleet and ice than snow," Burns said. "What we're going to see at the onset is rain changing over to a sleet rain mix as the air becomes very cold and chilled."

That wintry mix will continue until 9 a.m. Saturday when temperatures warm up and it turns into all rain at the lunch hour -- except for northeast Georgia.

There's even a chance of thunderstorms in northwest Georgia on Saturday night.

SCHOOL CLOSINGS

Several north Georgia schools announced Thursday they will be closed again Friday.

Late Friday night Fulton County Schools announced that school was canceled for students, but 12-month employees were to report.
 
Other counties are delaying the start of school or dismissing early.
 
Check back often for updated closings as more schools decide on their Friday plan.

[Click here for a full list of closings/delays]

POWER OUTAGES

Thousands of people are still without power across north Georgia.

Channel 2's Liz Artz talked to one family who cut up a pine tree to make it easier for crews, but no one has shown up to restore the electricity.

Debby Hansard has been using a generator since Monday to keep her medication safe for use.  She has a medical alert with Sawnee EMC which she says should give her priority during an outage.

Hansard says she's been without power for 60 hours and is staying warm with a wood burning stove.

Sawnee EMC spokesman Blake House said 100 crews are working around the clock to restore power.

"We would put lines back up and trees would fall and knock them back down. We can't prepare for that," House told Artz.
 
Power crews continued to work into the night Thursday to restore power to the families still in the dark in Hall County.
                       
Those without power are worried it could only get worse Friday night with more wintry weather on the way.
 
Greg Kiker showed Channel 2's Tom Regan how he's set up camp in the family room of his home as the Kiker family patiently waits for the power to come back on.
 
"It's worked well. The kids stay warm. They're piled on the couch with blankets. The fireplace is gas, so we don't have to worry about wood, so that's worked out well. And you can see the dog is hugging the fireplace out there, he's loving it," Kiker said.
 
Kiker told Regan he is worried about what may happen with the next winter storm on the horizon.
 
"The ice they are calling for is the biggest concern," Kiker said.
 
That's also the concern for emergency personnel from around Hall County who gathered for an update from the National Weather Service Thursday night.
 
They're drawing up their storm response plan to be ready for round two.
 
"Whatever does fall is going to be in some form of snow, sleet and freezing rain," Hall County Deputy EMA Director Scott Cagle told Regan.
 
Hall County School Superintendent Will Shofield told Regan he's hoping he won't have to shorten the school day Friday.
 
"As of now, we are cautiously optimistic. But we won't make a call until later this evening," Shofield said.
 
Utility crews are working in frigid conditions to restore power to homes. The Kikers hope theirs will be one of them.
 
Greg Kiker said he was told that his lights should be back on around midnight.
 
Hall County schools are expected to reopen Friday, but if the storm moves in sooner than expected, students could be let out early.

Get status updates from your power company below:

Stay with Channel 2 Action News and the five meteorologists of Severe Weather Team 2 throughout the weekend as the weather changes. Check wsbtv.com frequently for weather alerts and real-time school closings.

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