Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency on Tuesdayfor 15 counties in north Georgia bracing for a wave of snow and ice over the next two days, and said the state was "well prepared" for the wintry weather headed this way.
Deal's executive order covers Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Chatooga, Whitfield, Murray, Gordon, Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns, Pickens, Dawson, Lumpkin and White counties.
The National Weather Service placed parts of north Georgia under a winter storm warning as meteorologists warned of snow and ice in some areas. Light frozen precipitation is also possible in Atlanta's northern suburbs.
The order extends through Thursday and frees up state staffers and equipment to respond to the wintry weather. Deal said he's ordered the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to work with the state transportation department, local officials and school systems to make resources available.
State and local officials have repeatedly vowed they're better prepared for winter weather than they were in 2011 and 2014, when snow and ice paralyzed metro Atlanta. Giant stores of salt and sand are now scattered around north Georgia, along with expanded fleets of plows. And state leaders promise a new level of coordination with local agencies when storms hit.
Deal said Tuesday that something else has changed, too.
"We've all come to the reality that these severe weather crises may be more frequent in their nature than we have been accustomed to historically," said Deal. "We have prepared for it. It's no longer what will happen every 100 years but now, more likely, what will happen every five years."
The National Weather Service predicted that Georgia could see an unusually cold winter thanks to a strong El Nino weather pattern, and climatologists forecast more unpredictable weather patterns as climate change warms the planet.
"I think we are well prepared. Local systems have also beefed up their ability to cope with crises, and certainly I think the state is prepared," Deal said. "We'd just as soon not have to demonstrate our preparedness. But in case it happens, we're prepared."
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