The CSRA is gearing up for the cold over Christmas weekend.
Gov. Brian Kemp announced a statewide state of emergency ahead of temperatures expected to plummet to zero or below across most of Georgia Friday morning.
“Communities across the state are about to see temperatures that they haven’t experienced in a decade or more,” Kemp said at a news conference Wednesday.
Georgia Department of Transportation crews were going out Wednesday to begin brining interstates, state highways and bridges including all of I-20 ahead of the three-day freeze.
“Whenever we look at temperatures this low, we need to look out for black ice as well,” Kemp said at a news conference.
The U.S. National Weather Service expects steady winds as a cold front bringing bitter weather across the Midwest and East Coast makes its way down south.
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“As we get into the Southeast, as this front passes, we’re definitely going get a really rapid change in temperature,” said Ian Giammanco, lead research meteorologist with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, or IBHS. “We’re going to get some lows down in the teens, really cold for those of us in the south who aren’t used to dealing with this.”
For Augusta, the National Weather Service forecast wasn’t as cold, with a high temperature of 38 degrees Friday and a low of 14 degrees Friday night. Wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour will make it feel much colder.
Saturday, the high is a sunny 32 with a low of 18 degrees Saturday night. Christmas Day is expected to be sunny with a high of 39 degrees.
The Columbia County Emergency Management Agency issued a release Tuesday encouraging residents to stay indoors to avoid long exposure to the freezing temperatures and windy conditions.
In Augusta, three agencies prepared to open their doors day and night for individuals without homes or heat: Augusta Rescue Mission, Garden City Rescue Mission and the Salvation Army Center of Hope. Residents should call (706) 826-7933 and free transit to the sites is available.
City officials also advised residents and businesses to turn off running water systems such as sprinklers to avoid creating ice on roads and sidewalks. Columbia County EMA also urged locals to prep their homes to keep out the cold with insulation, caulking and weather stripping, and warned not to use outdoor heaters or ovens to warm the inside of the home.
Giacommo also advises some to open their cabinets where plumbing comes in, such as kitchens and bathrooms, due to the tendency of some homebuilders in the Southeast to put plumbing on exterior walls.
“If you actually open the cabinets where there’s a hole for warmer air to get into the cavity between, essentially, your siding, the wall sheathing and where your insulation is, that can help keep those pipes that are located on exterior walls from freezing,” he said. “If you have an internal and interior bathroom is not on the exterior walls, and it’s not as vital.”
Taking inventory of one’s home, complete with documentation and photos, alongside home preparation, can also help mitigate issues in the event of winter damage, such a burst pipes, should one need to contact an insurance company.
“Take a picture of everything that’s going on, make sure that the timestamp and the geolocation is turned on; it can really help in the claims process,” said Giacommo. “It’ll make the process—which isn’t fun, by any means—go a little bit smoother. And that’s really all we’re asking for when we have those kinds of bad things happen.”
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Georgia Power was staging to address any issues on power lines or equipment as well as preparing for increased demand, said Ryan Poole, the storm center operations manager for the power company.
“Not only are our teams prepared to meet any issues on our power lines and power equipment, our generation crew and generation plants are ready to respond to what we know will be increased demand with the Low temperatures,” he said.
Visit the following links for more tips on how to prepare for the coming weather:
IBHS Winter Weather Ready Guide
Georgia Power Outage & Storm Center
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
