ATLANTA — Better buy your bread, milk and eggs.
The threat of winter weather has the city of Atlanta in a panic. As per usual, so-called food staples are flying off grocery store shelves whether shoppers need to stock up or not, and public officials are urging people to stay off the roads, lest the city experience a repeat of 2014’s snowpocalypse.
“We will continue monitoring the forecast models and make appropriate adjustments as necessary,” Gov. Nathan Deal said in a news release. “Georgians should stay calm, make the appropriate preparations and stay aware of a potential change in weather conditions.”
Deal is declaring a state of emergency for 79 counties at noon today. Acting upon the recommendation of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, Deal is ordering state agencies to prepare for up to four inches of snowfall.
The governor announced the order yesterday so that individuals and businesses in North and Central Georgia could prepare for the noon declaration and the winter storm itself.
“Visibility is very poor when driving in the snow and properly working wipers and headlights will help drivers not only see the road but also help other drivers see them,” Harris Blackwood, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said in a news release. “Of course, the safest thing for everyone to do is to stay at home and not drive when it is snowing and when roads are covered with ice.”
The 79 counties include Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Columbia, Coweta, Crawford, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Elbert, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Hart, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, McDuffie, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Rabun, Richmond, Rockdale, Spalding, Stephens, Talbot, Taliaferro, Taylor, Towns, Treutlen, Troup, Union, Upson, Walker, Walton, Warren, White, Whitfield and Wilkes.
