Weather.com is reporting a special weather statement issued at 12:27 warning of the potential for winter weather in North Georgia, including Walton County and the Monroe area, Thursday afternoon and into Thursday night.
The statement reads:
... WINTER WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA ON THURSDAY...
A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE STATE ON THURSDAY. AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM... A DEEP SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL SPREAD AMPLE GULF MOISTURE NORTHWARD... RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD RAIN ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. AS THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PUSHES INTO THE CAROLINAS THURSDAY AFTERNOON... A DEEP COLD AIR MASS WILL BEGIN TO SPREAD INTO THE AREA FROM WEST TO EAST THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AS A RESULT... THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR RAIN TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW ACROSS PARTS OF NORTH GEORGIA IF SUFFICIENT WRAP AROUND MOISTURE CAN SPREAD BACK INTO THE COLD AIR MASS BEHIND THE DEPARTING COLD FRONT. DESPITE WARM GROUNDS FROM RECENT UNSEASONABLE WARM TEMPERATURES... THERE IS THE POTENTIAL THAT STRONG UPPER FORCING COULD ENHANCE SNOWFALL RATES ENOUGH TO ALLOW FOR SOME LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS PARTS OF NORTH GEORGIA BY MID TO LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING... BUT THIS WOULD BE MAINLY OVER ELEVATED AND GRASSY SURFACES. ALTHOUGH LIGHT SNOW COULD BE SEEN AS FAR SOUTH AS A LA GRANGE TO ATHENS LINE... IT APPEARS THE GREATER CHANCES FOR SNOW ACCUMULATION WOULD BE GENERALLY NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR WEST OF ATLANTA... AND THE I-85 CORRIDOR EAST OF ATLANTA.
AT THIS TIME... NO WIDESPREAD TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES ARE EXPECTED WITH THE INITIAL SNOWFALL THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING... EXCEPT POSSIBLY IN THE NORTHEAST GEORGIA MOUNTAINS WHERE THERE IS A GREATER POTENTIAL FOR HIGHER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. HOWEVER... THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR PATCHES OF BLACK ICE DEVELOPING ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES FROM LATE THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH MID FRIDAY MORNING WHEN TEMPERATURES FALL BELOW FREEZING.
ALL INTEREST ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND REMAIN ALERT FOR THE POTENTIAL OF WINTER WEATHER THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT.
Patch will keep up with these alerts, road conditions and school closings and bring updates as they are issued.
