GEORGIA – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and other state officials held a news conference Tuesday morning to give an update on winter storm preparations and urge Georgians to stay off the roads as conditions are expected to deteriorate rapidly.
During the news conference, Georgia Emergency Management Director James Stallings said a critical needs patient died Monday night as a result of hypothermia and stressed the importance of taking care of sensitive communities, especially in case of an outage.
“We have loved ones that are up in age, keep an eye on them,” Stalling said.
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Kemp declared a state of emergency Monday allowing for more resources to be made available to help in the preparation, response and recovery efforts during the severe winter weather event forecast to bring snow and dangerously cold temperatures starting Tuesday.
“We’re in constant local contact with the EMAS, coordinating with a lot of state agencies, not just on snow and ice and precipitation, but also things like rural waters and freezing pipes and other things,” Kemp said. “Local warming stations are active. And then also, obviously, our utility partners are standing by in case we have power outages.”
Officials said the winter storm is expected to impact the whole state but specifically urged residents who live in the south and rural areas to be prepared.
“South Georgia is not accustomed to a lot of snow and ice. It’s different there, the roads are different, there’s a lot of dirt roads that have to be treated different,” Stallings said.
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The Georgia Department of Transportation said crews have been busy since Sunday applying brine to interstates, state routes, bridges and overpasses. As of Tuesday morning, crews had treated more than 43,000 lane miles of roads with more than 1.7 million gallons of brine—a salt and water mixture that helps keep ice from bonding to the surface of the road.
Teams at the State Operation Center and across Georgia are preparing for today’s incoming winter weather. Please ensure you and your family are prepared to stay home and off the roads this afternoon and into tomorrow if needed, and take necessary precautions in case you lose… pic.twitter.com/wg97RpXbpM
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) January 21, 2025
The National Weather Service predicts Georgia will begin to see impacts across the central and southern parts of the state as early as noon Tuesday, with possible precipitation heaviest south of Interstate 85 but with possible accumulation extending north of I-85.
As the storm continues into the night, heavy sleet and about an inch of rain are expected, creating hazardous conditions for Wednesday morning. The potential for black ice is high due to low temperatures and refreezing.
For that reason, drivers were urged to plan ahead and limit travel as much as possible.
“This could deteriorate very quickly,” Kemp said.
For more winter weather preparedness tips and updates regarding winter weather conditions, visit gema.georgia.gov/winter.