Winter storm warning for mountains, advisory for other parts of north Georgia

ATLANTA - Forecasters at the National Weather Service have issued a winter storm warning for 12 Georgia counties in the northwest and northern parts of the state, and winter weather advisory for other parts of north and central Georgia.

The winter storm warning will be in effect from 10 a.m. Thursday until 7 a.m. Friday. It includes the cities of Rome, Calhoun, Chatsworth, Dalton and Blairsville and Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield, Murray, Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns, Chattooga, Gordon and Floyd counties.

Forecasters say a cold polar air mass spreading into Georgia was expected to bring rain that will mix with and change over to snow Thursday afternoon and evening.

The weather service said the heaviest snow (up to four inches) was expected to fall in the mountains, with lighter amounts possible in parts of the Atlanta area.

Gainesville and most of the rest of north Georgia, including the metro Atlanta area, will be under a winter weather advisory through Friday morning for some snow and the possibility of black ice. Snow accumulations of one inch or less are forecast. And, a flood watch remains in effect for many places. This includes Gainesville many of the other areas also under the winter weather advisory and winter storm warning.

(See link below for more on the winter storm warning, the winter weather advisory and flood watch.)

The Georgia Department of Transportation was planning to finalize an inclement weather action plan Thursday morning.

The agency has 11 strategic staging areas with salt and stone along the interstates, and officials may use a brine maker to coat highways with a mixture of salt and water, DOT Operations Director Meg Pirkle said.

"This is the first winter we have had the capability to make liquid salt," Pirkle said in a statement. "We believe it will start the chemical process more quickly, speeding up the melting process on our roads and bridges."

More than 1,500 employees in middle and north Georgia will be available to help address any issues that may result from snow, freezing rain or ice on the state's highways, DOT officials said.

(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.(