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Officials urge residents to stay home as winter weather continues
Road closed
A road closed sign is posted near Sawnee Drive and Tribble Gap on Sunday, Jan. 16. - photo by Ashlyn Yule

Officials with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office urge residents to stay off the roads as the winter weather continues.

FCSO has been responding to downed trees around the county since early this morning.

At 1:30 p.m., Sawnee EMC is reporting more than 1,800 customers without power. Georgia Power shows less than 10 customers without power, but say they are monitoring the situation as high winds continue throughout the day.

Power outages can be reported by Sawnee EMC’s app, at Sawnee.com or by calling 770-887-2363.

Customers can also report outages by texting 678-999-8124 and providing an account number or by texting “OUT” to 768482 if customers have already enrolled in Smart Hub.
Officials with Georgia Power said they are also focusing on the storm, and customers can go to www.georgiapower.com/storm to sign up for outage alerts, report and check the status of outages. The company can also be contacted at 888-891-0938.

Forsyth County Emergency Management Director Chris Grimes said updated information will be posted on the county’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

According to the National Weather Service, a Winter Storm Warning is in still in effect for portions of Northeast portions of north Georgia will see rain mixing with or changing to snow, sleet, and freezing rain mainly late tonight through Sunday. Strong winds of 25-35 mph gusting 40-50 mph are likely today for north Georgia along with possible higher gusts in the northern higher elevations.

The National Weather Service says any lingering moisture can refreeze as black ice tonight into Monday morning.


Road closed

More details from the National Weather Service:

WHAT...Until 2 p.m., this afternoon winds could reach High Wind Warning criteria with east winds 15 to 25 mph and gusts up to 40 mph. After 2 p.m., this afternoon winds could reach Wind Advisory levels with west winds 10 to 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph expected.

WHERE...Portions of north central, northeast, northwest and west central Georgia.

WHEN...For the High Wind Warning, until 2 p.m., this afternoon. For the Wind Advisory, from 2 p.m., this afternoon until 7 p.m., Monday.

IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Large tree limbs and some trees could be blown down and power outages may result. People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive, according to the National Weather Service.

FCN staff writers Kelly Whitmire and Ashlyn Yule contributed to this report.

Lake Lanier
Jack Jeffery took photos over Lake Lanier with his drone on Jan. 16. - photo by Jack Jeffery
Lake Lanier