We’re a few days out from seeing winter weather in a large portion of North Georgia. While it’s too early to determine expected impacts in specific locations, the potential exists for significant travel issues, widespread power outages from downed trees and powerlines, and burst pipes this weekend into early next week.
Here’s what you can be doing:
Prepare your family. Make a family communications plan, have enough non-perishable food, water and medications for at least 3 days, ensure you have warm clothing and blankets, update your first aid kit, and keep your phone charged.
Prepare your home. Install and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, cover outdoor pipes and seal doors/windows, clean out gutters, ensure safe use of portable heaters and generators, gather supplies like flashlights, batteries, candles, and extra blankets.
Prepare your car. Make sure your gas tank is full and prepare an emergency car kit including a first aid kit, cell phone charger, jumper cables, blankets, water, snacks and an ice scraper.
For ongoing updates, follow GEMA/HS, the National Weather Service, your local emergency management agency and trusted media outlets. For more preparedness tips, visit https://gema.georgia.gov/winter.