The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for most of north Georgia and metro Atlanta, including Cobb County, starting early Friday morning.
The advisory, which was issued around 3 p.m. Thursday, lasts from 5 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday and includes the possibility of between a half-inch to an inch of snow or rain mixed with snow throughout the advisory area.
What’s expected to start out as rain could become rain mixed with snow or sleet in the pre-dawn and morning commuting hours of Friday.
Earlier Thursday afternoon, Cobb DOT trucks were out pre-treating bridges and overpasses with a brine mixture.
“You can pretreat with the brine up to 48 hours ahead of the storm,” said Bill Shelton, Cobb DOT’s Road Maintenance Director, in a statement issued by Cobb County government. “The cost to do the whole county, every bridge and overpass, is probably $100 worth of salt. It is worth it to be proactive and keep our roads safe for the traveling public.”
The NWS advisory area runs north of a line from LaGrange to Jonesboro to Lawrenceville to Hiawassee.
The likelihood of rain or snow will be strongest after 5 a.m. Friday, according to the weather advisory. Temperatures in the Cobb area are expected to be in the high 30s, and the chance of precipitation is 90 percent.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the Cobb County School District had not announced whether school activities will take place on Friday.
UPDATE: Here’s what the CCSD posted on its Twitter account around 10:40 p.m. Thursday:
“@CobbSchools has been monitoring and discussions with meteorologists throughout the day and evening. As of 10:30 pm Thursday schools are open Friday 12/8. We’ll be up at 3:30 am to check roads and forecasts to make an announcement, if anything changes.”
More rain and snow are likely before late Friday night, with lows dropping into the high 20s. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent Friday night.
On Saturday, temperatures are forecast to be in the 40s, with partly sunny skies as the winter weather clears the metro Atlanta area. The low Saturday is expected in the mid 20s, and Sunday’s high is expected to be in the low 40s.
Cobb officials said that as of late Thursday afternoon there were no road closures in the county.
