Snowfall in Gainesville and Hall County yesterday ranged from 2-to-3 inches in some places before ending in the early afternoon but by 8:30 snow was again falling and had been since before daybreak.
Forecasters say unlike areas in and around Athens and in a large part of central Georgia from LaGrange to the Augusta area where ice is causing problems, north Georgia should experience mostly snow.
"Light snow this morning will increase during the day today. There will be times when it will mix with sleet and perhaps even freezing rain but the predominant precipitation type will be snow<" according to the latest on the winter storm warning which remains in effect until Thursday afternoon.
Winds could be a problem, as well, with some gusts of up to 30 miles-an-hour. Already there have been reports of downed trees in the Gainesville area and elsewhere in north Georgia. Temperatures, meanwhile, will remain in the lower 30s today before dropping into the upper 20s tonight.
Hall County EMA personnel manned the Emergency Operations Center overnight to keep an eye on the changing conditions.
By 5:00, Hall County Fire Services had not responded to many calls and nothing of "significance" but Emergency Management Agency spokesman Scott Cagle said "we expect this to increase once citizens get up and try 'to explore'. Once again we strongly encourage citizens to heed the warning of county officials, to stay off the roads."
Cagle said this will help first responders perform their duties and to respond to true emergencies and keep unnecessary traffic free from the roadways.
"We had additional personnel come into staff administrative vehicles and respond to non-emergency incidents to help with call volume
(Photo courtesy Amber Smith Price.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/2/271072