Northeast Georgians, some without power to heat their homes, are awakening this morning to frigid temperatures, gusty winds, and wind chills near or below zero. The lowest temperature in Gainesville so far is 13 with a wind chill of 2 which was recorded at 6:00 at the airport.
A 6:00 briefing from Hall County officials noted that Vaughandale Circle remained closed due to icy conditions between Dawsonville Highway and Sardis Church Road. The update also showed there have been 108 “roadway incidents” since the onset of the storm but none were listed at time of the briefing.
The number of people seeking shelter from the cold increased to six overnight at the warming center at the North Hall Community Center. Plans right now are to close it at 8:00 tonight.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office reported an increase in traffic accidents Monday as people began venturing. Several of them occurred in ice covered parking lot. (See separate story.)
Jackson EMC reported no power outages in in Hall County, but more than 1,000 Georgia Power customers were still in the dark.
Meanwhile, crews are still working to restore power in the three hardest hit counties in northeast Georgia: White (4,212), Habersham (3,800) and Rabun (3,750).
And the weather service in an early morning advisory notes that overnight/early morning temperatures will be in the 20s the rest of the work week and in the teens come the weekend.
The weather service 7-day forecast for Gainesville and vicinity:
Today
Sunny, with a high near 39. West wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 25. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Thursday
Partly sunny, with a high near 44. West wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.
Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 43.
Friday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.
Saturday
A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 28.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 14.
Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 34.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 19.
Monday
Sunny, with a high near 42.