Winter Storm Cora is headed for Georgia in the coming hours, and the National Weather Service is continuing to predict snow and ice impacts on the Northeast Georgia region.
Keith Stellman, forecaster for the NWS said Thursday that the latest forecasts are predicting less snow than originally thought, with instead more freezing rain expected.
"What's changed from (Wednesday) is now we've upgraded the Winter Storm Watch to a Winter Storm Warning for a big chunk of North Georgia, including all of Northeast Georgia," Stellman said. "We still expect snow to move into the region probably mid-morning, any time after 7:00 a.m...mostly snow, maybe mixed with sleet, and then changing over to a freezing rain sometime in the afternoon hours."
Stellman said the sleet and freezing rain is expected to continue until sometime between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Friday.
If the increased ice projections come to pass, Stellman said that could mean major road issues and widespread power outages in the region.
"Travel is going to be very difficult tomorrow...We know (the Georgia Department of Transportation) is out treating a lot of the primary roads, and hopefully that will help significantly on the main roads, but the secondary roads may be tricky," Stellman said. "There is going to be a power outage threat that starts to develop as the ice begins to accumulate and the winds pick up Friday night and particularly through the day on Saturday."
The Winter Storm Warning will include all counties in Georgia north of Interstate 20, meaning the entire Northeast Georgia region is included. The warning will be in effect from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday.
