Gov. Nathan Deal placed much of north Georgia under a state of emergency and ordered state government offices in the region to shut down at noon Friday as a wave of widespread snow threatened the region.
In a statement Friday, Deal ordered state agency heads to encourage employees to telecommute where appropriate and called on local governments and private businesses in metro Atlanta and north Georgia to do the same.
The emergency order now includes 21 counties, and Deal said he is monitoring an additional 24 counties - including most in metro Atlanta - that are under a winter storm advisory.
The counties covered by his emergency order include Banks, Catoosa, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Franklin, Gilmer, Gordon, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, Walker, White and Whitfield counties.
The order frees up additional funds, manpower and resources through the weekend to deal with the storms.
Snow could reach metro Atlanta by early Saturday morning, though rain predicted before the snowfall could throw a wrench in the state’s plans to treat roadways for possible ice in some areas. Deal said the one-two punch of rain then snowfall could hinder state emergency preparations that rely on the use of brine on the roadways.
“If it comes with the rain first – which is now predicted to do – we cannot put the brine on the roads while it’s raining,” the governor said. “We need a period for the rain to dry out before we put the brine. We’ll make decisions based on the facts as we see them.”
Despite the tricky timetable, Georgia Emergency Management Agency Director Jim Butterworth said the state is “absolutely” prepared no matter how the forecasts shift.
“We’re going to have some rain in the morning, the rain is going to stop, and then the wintry precipitation is going to begin,” Butterworth said. “The timing is going to be key. And communication is going to be an absolute necessity.”
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