News
News

Atlanta Snow: Stay off Georgia’s Appalachian Trail, Forest Service says

In this 2014 photo, Georgia Department of Natural Resources wildlife technician Scott Bardenwerper works Unicoi Gap on the Appalachian Trail to do public assists aiding hikers who were caught out on the trail in a snowstorm north of Helen. Forest Service officials want to avoid this sort of thing here in 2017 as a winter storm approaches north Georgia.

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

In this 2014 photo, Georgia Department of Natural Resources wildlife technician Scott Bardenwerper works Unicoi Gap on the Appalachian Trail to do public assists aiding hikers who were caught out on the trail in a snowstorm north of Helen. Forest Service officials want to avoid this sort of thing here in 2017 as a winter storm approaches north Georgia.
By Mandi Albright
Jan 6, 2017

With snow predicted for the weekend, Forest Service officials are asking folks to stay off the Appalachian Trail and out of the high elevations of the Chattahoochee National Forest.

“Stay off the Appalachian Trail at this time for personal safety and to avoid further stress on local emergency responders who very likely will not be able to respond to trail emergencies because of unsafe and inaccessible conditions predicted with the impending winter storm,” Steven Bekkerus, public affairs officer for Region 8, wrote in a Jan. 6 press release.

Bekkerus warns that trail conditions can quickly change and that weather conditions in high elevation areas may differ significantly from conditions in nearby areas.

Some northern areas of metro Atlanta could see up to five inches of snow, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton says.

Gov. Nathan Deal has issued a state of emergency order covering 79 Georgia counties, including all of metro Atlanta.

About the Author

Mandi Albright writes the AJC's Deja News feature and is an online presentation specialist with the AJC's Digital Presentation team.

More Stories

Keep Reading

Pete Risse is retiring after 70 years working at Georgia Power. The 89-year-old and his mother narrowly escaped from Russian-occupied Germany in the aftermath of World War II.  Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia Power engineer retiring after 70 years on job, often underground

Georgia Power engineer Pete Risse is retiring after a remarkable 70 years on the job.

2h ago

NATO chief says 4 U.S. soldiers dead in Lithuania; were based in Georgia

Four soldiers who were stationed at Fort Stewart near Savannah, Georgia went missing in a training accident in Lithuania, a spokesman for the unit said Wednesday.

The Latest

Law enforcement officials outside the Wellmade plant during a labor trafficking raid.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

A.M. ATL: GA company raided in labor trafficking investigation

1h ago

Georgia Power engineer retiring after 70 years on job, often underground

2h ago

Check out 2025 Braves schedule

Featured

Savannah's Talmadge Bridge sits just downriver from the Georgia Ports Authority cargo ship terminals. The span was recently listed in a NTSB report among those that are at risk for vessel strike following the March 2024 collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. (Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Savannah’s bridge is anchored on the riverbank. So how could it topple?

The federal agency investigating Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse lists Savannah's Talmadge Bridge as susceptible to vessel strikes despite piers being located on riverbank.

Brewing at the CDC: Five top resignations and ‘potentially catastrophic’ cuts

The Atlanta-based CDC is already dealing with hundreds of laid-off staff and restrictions on communication that make it difficult for some to accomplish their basic work.

How Atlanta played a role in the record-breaking ‘Othello on Broadway’ revival

The revival of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, directed by Kenny Leon, breaks Broadway records.