National Weather Service offices in Georgia and South Carolina said the possibility for a weather mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow are possible in both states, but not the Augusta and Aiken metro area.
The NWS office in Columbia, which covers the local area, has a winter weather advisory in effect until 7 a. m. Saturday for northern and eastern counties.
The forecast is for mixed precipitation with snow accumulations around one inch and ice accumulations less than a tenth of an inch in the central and northern Midlands. Augusta and Aiken are not listed in the cities expected to be impacted.
In Georgia, the weather service in Peachtree City, Ga. updated its hazardous weather outlook shortly after 5 a.m. Jan. 21. It is for north and central parts of the state only.
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The update said patchy freezing drizzle producing a very light coating off ice on elevated surfaces like bridges and overpasses is possible through Friday night across north Georgia.
The outlook said there is a possibility of light snow through Saturday.
Kyle Collins, communications spokesman for District 2 of the Georgia Department of Transportation, said no brine or pretreatment is planned for road surfaces, based on the weather service predictions.
“We will have personnel on call Friday night and Saturday morning to respond if needed to ice or other issues,” he said, adding, “No 12-hour shifts like we’d do in a full-blown event.”
South Carolina Department of Transportation crews are mobilizing, particularly to locations covered by the winter weather advisory.
“SCDOT has transitioned from clearing roads from the winter storm this past weekend to preparing for a new winter storm in the forecast,” Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall said. “SCDOT again is prepared for the worst possible conditions. We advise the motoring public to plan ahead and not to drive in areas impacted by snow and ice.”
SCDOT plans to have 2,500 employees working around the clock. Interstate highways are the priority followed by primary routes and roads near medical facilities.
Both Georgia and South Carolina provide up to the minute road condition at www.511ga.org and www.511sc.org or by calling 5-1-1. The service is available 24-hours a day.
Weather for the CSRA can be tracked at the National Weather Service’s Columbia, S.C. website: https://www.weather.gov/cae/
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
