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With winter storm looming, Forsyth County Schools closed Wednesday
WinterWeather 1

On the Net

To learn more about the Forsyth County school system’s online/itslearning program, visit www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/onlineplan

FORSYTH COUNTY — The Forsyth County school system has announced schools will be closed Wednesday due to the threat of heavy snowfall and ice.

 

Jennifer Caracciolo, spokeswoman for the district, said central office and 240-day staff should report to work only “at normal start times and expect an early departure.”

 

All after-school activities and athletics are canceled for Wednesday.

 

And as was the case Tuesday, Wednesday will be an online/itslearning day, Caracciolo said. For high school students, that will include seven class periods.

 

Officials made the decision Tuesday night as a winter storm watch for the area was upgraded to a warning, which runs from 10 a.m. Wednesday through 10 a.m. Thursday.

 

The National Weather Service forecast calls for snow accumulations of up to 4 or 5 inches in the Forsyth County area during that span.

 

More than 5 inches of snow is predicted in Dahlonega, and the forecast calls for 2 to 6 inches from south of Atlanta to the northeast Georgia mountains.

 

Snow is predicted to begin accumulating in Forsyth around 3 p.m. Wednesday, with the thick of it hitting after 7 p.m.

 

Temperatures are expected to hover between 30 and 34 degrees Wednesday, depending on snowfall.

 

Precipitation should subside around 2 a.m. Thursday, according to the weather service, but freezing temperatures could make road hazardous during the morning commute that day.

 

With the winter storm bearing down on Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency.

 

In a news release, Deal said the state of emergency spans 50 north Georgia counties, including Forsyth, beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

 

According to Deal, state offices will close at noon to avoid traffic jams during afternoon and evening snowfall — which crippled the region during a January 2014 storm.

 

Despite the emergency declaration going into effect Wednesday afternoon, Deal says state resources being deployed to address the storm will also be available overnight.

 

Deal says 80 additional Georgia Department of Transportation workers and 15 "strike teams" have been moved into areas expecting to see snow and freezing rain.

 

The agency is also dispatching trucks to apply brine to major highways.

 

According to the forecast, the high Thursday is projected to reach 43 before giving way to partly sunny conditions on Friday and Saturday with temperatures in the mid- to upper-40s.

 

The closure will be the second of the week for the Forsyth County school system and sixth time in eight days that schools won’t be open.

 

After a normal day Monday, the district called off school Tuesday as snow started falling in the early morning hours.

 

Last week, schools were open only on Friday. Feb. 16 was the President’s Day holiday, while ice, frigid conditions and lingering power outages did not allow for school Feb. 17-19.

 

Feb. 17 and 18 will be made up, covered by the district’s two built-in inclement weather days, on March 16 and April 3. Feb. 19 and Tuesday were the system’s first-ever online/itslearning days.

 

That meant students would have five school days after they return from school to complete assignments from their teachers that they can view at home via the district’s virtual online learning portal.

 

 

The Associated Press and FCN regional staff contributed to this report.