Winter Weather Advisory for much of north Georgia Monday morning
ATLANTA - A Winter Weather Advisory for light accumulations of freezing rain goes into effect early Monday morning through the early afternoon for much of north Georgia. A glaze to 1/10" ice accumulations are likely, and will cause dangerous road conditions in spots. The advisory is divided into three areas with the western counties in effect until 11 am; central counties until 12 pm; eastern counties until 1 pm.
Because of the threat of icy conditions, Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered non-essential state offices to remain closed Monday. Facilities north of a line from Columbus to Augusta are affected by the closure.
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"Out of an abundance of caution, we are closing non-essential agencies to ensure our employees' safety as well as ensure the Georgia Department of Transportation's ability to maintain and treat our roads," Gov. Deal said in a statement.
The Georgia Capitol will remain open, allowing the General Assembly to gavel in the 2018 legislative session.
Remember, any ice on the roads is dangerous ice. Make sure you are alert that difficult driving conditions could be a factor early Monday morning. The highest concern for ice on the roads will be bridges and overpasses.
Unfortunately, there's still a lot of uncertainty within the models on how Monday morning is going to unfold, but we are getting a better idea on which areas will have the greatest impacts (if any).
The key points to this forecast will be:
- When will the moisture return? The earlier the precipitation arrives, the greater the threat we will have for freezing rain and ice accumulation.
- How long will the precipitation be frozen? This is one of the more difficult aspects of the forecast, but so important for the amount of ice accumulation we could see. Freezing mist is possible and that freezes more quickly than freezing rain. Worst case scenario or not, we are expecting less than one-tenth of an inch of ice accumulation in the Winter Weather Advisory areas.
- What will be the extent of the travel impacts? There's still a concern for a glaze of ice on roads, overpasses, and bridges, especially in the Winter Weather Advisory areas. Even if you aren't included in the advisory, you should still use caution on the roadways for ice. Most areas east of metro Atlanta won't have any ice Monday. Again, any ice on roads is dangerous ice.
What we do know is that the GFS model is being much more aggressive with the probability of seeing sleet or freezing rain. This model is showing the "worst case scenario." If this model verifies, north Georgia will see frozen precipitation arrive between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. and stick around through midday. This will lead to around one-tenth of an inch of ice accumulation and cause icy roads for a short period of time.
Even with this scenario, we aren't concerned about widespread power outages, trees falling or power lines falling. Also, in this same scenario, all the ice would melt by the afternoon.
The EURO model is showing the "best case scenario" with patchy, light freezing rain in the morning, followed by occasional rain showers in the afternoon and evening. The model is also accounting for slight warmer temperatures than the GFS.
One thing that has not changed is the forecast for the National Championship. Temperatures will be near 40° with occasional showers. If this forecast changes, it would be to adjust the possibility of rain, not the above-freezing temperatures.
The Georgia Department of Transportation's crews are working through Sunday night to treat interstates, bridges, overpasses, and more. Officials are asking the public to provide the crews enough room on the roadways to make sure they can treat everything.
More HERO units will also be monitoring assigned routes to provide help to any stranded motorists.
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