CUMMING – Just more than a month after drought and wildfires raged throughout north Georgia, Forsyth County and metro Atlanta may be facing another, colder natural element this weekend, and agencies are preparing for the first winter weather of the season.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning from 4 p.m. Friday through 1 p.m. Saturday, with up to 2-4 inches of snow possible with rain, making roads slick and travel hazardous.
"Roads will become slick making travel hazardous. Snowfall may be heavy at time. Travel could quickly become dangerous," the agency said.
Agencies throughout Forsyth County began preparing during the week for the inclement weather, including briefings at the county’s emergency operations center.
The center, located at the Forsyth County Public Safety Complex on Settingdown Road, is a central location for representatives from every agency in the county – from the sheriff’s office and fire department to the school system, library and roads and bridges department – to come together to decide on closings and emergency actions, according to Deputy Doug Rainwater, a spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
The center will become operational “once the county makes the determination that we need to activate it based on predicted weather events,” he said.
As of the National Weather Serive’s Thursday midday forecast, a mix of rain and snow will begin falling early Friday evening and will turn into all snow after 7 p.m., with a high of 39 degrees on Friday that will drop to 25 that night.
Snow will end from west to east through Saturday morning.
Saturday’s temperature are predicted to rise to 33 during the day before dropping back down to 19 at night, though Saturday night is expected to be clear of inclement weather.
“A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency,” the agency said in its statement.
The rest of the weekend into Monday will remain around and below freezing, with highs in the mid- to –upper-30s and lows around 18 degrees.
Forsyth County Schools decided Thursday morning to cancel all after-school activities and athletics from Friday, Jan. 6 through Sunday, Jan. 8. The cancellation did not include after-school childcare programs at public schools.
Parents wanting more information on the rescheduling of activities and athletics for Jan. 6-8 can contact their child’s coach/sponsor.
The National Weather Service suggested those who must travel keep an extra flashlight, food and water in their vehicle in the case of an emergency or getting stranded.
Follow ForsythNews.com throughout the weekend for up-to-date forecasts.