According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm warning is in effect for portions of northeast and northwest Georgia, including Forsyth County.
Portions of north Georgia will see rain mixing with or changing to snow, sleet, and freezing rain mainly tonight through Sunday.
On Friday, Forsyth County Emergency Management Director Chris Grimes met with several local agencies to form a plan for how the county will deal with the weather.
“We actually have been having briefings on the weather since earlier this week,” Grimes said. “We’ve been meeting every day with our key partners, watching the changing forecasts and making sure we have the latest information from the National Weather Service and others as we prepare for the weekend.”
Strong winds of 25 mph gusting up to 35 mph are likely tonight into Sunday for north Georgia and much of central Georgia along with gusts up to 50 mph in the northern higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service.
Rain mixing with or changing to snow, sleet, and freezing rain will continue through Sunday across portions of north Georgia.
The winter storm warning and winter weather advisory be in effect until midnight Sunday night.
Grimes said updated information will be posted on the county’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
He added that the combination of wind, ice and snow could mean downed trees and power outages and that if anyone loses power and uses a generator, they should “always be used outdoors.”
Local power companies are also preparing for the storm.
Officials with Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation said in a news release the company is tracking the storm and has activated an emergency response plan.
“Staff is prepared to respond to any outages and crews will be strategically staged throughout our service area,” the release said.
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.
