By Erik Green
Freezing temperatures and light snow are expected tonight, which could create hazardous road conditions following a week of continuous rain.
Gordon County Emergency Management Director Richard Cooper said that cold air will move in around 6 p.m. today and by 10 p.m. snow is expected to fall.
The National Weather Service forecast temperatures around 28 degrees.
The problem is not the snow, Cooper said, but the potential for black ice that could be on the roads by late evening.
“Temperatures tonight around 6 p.m. will be cold enough that bridges and overpasses will start freezing,” Cooper said. “From 9 to midnight, we’ll be seeing the potential for black ice all through tomorrow morning.”
To add insult to injury, a wind advisory will be in affect for the next 24 hours, according to Cooper, with gusts up to 30 miles per hour in some spots.
“With all this rain, we’re going to have trees down,” he said.
Fortunately, flood warnings have been canceled throughout the area, Cooper said.
“But what we worry about is another inch of rain or more,” Cooper said. “The extreme east end of the county could see up to two (inches).
Cooper encouraged residents to run errands today before the freezing temperatures roll in by 6 p.m.
He also recommended that area residents stay at home this evening and early Friday morning.
For those who will be driving, Cooper advised:
“Drive slow, slow down before an intersection and don’t wait to stop,” he said.
The threat of further rain and impending icy conditions closed area schools early on Thursday.
Gordon County Schools announced early dismissals for today. Plans for Friday will be made available by 8 p.m. this evening.
Elementary schools, Belwood, Sonoraville, Tolbert, Red Bud, Fairmount and W.L. Swain will dismiss at 12:30 p.m. today.
Sonoraville and Ashworth Middle Schools, as well as Gordon Central and Sonoraville High School’s will dismiss at 1:30 p.m. today.
All after school activities have currently been cancelled.
Updates on plans for Friday will be available on the Gordon County School’s website by 8 pm.
CALHOUN CITY SCHOOLS
Calhoun Pre-K will dismiss at normal release time: 2:30 p.m.
Calhoun Primary School and Calhoun Elementary School will have early dismissal today at 1:30 p.m.
Calhoun Middle School and Calhoun High School will dismiss at 2:00 p.m.
All evening school activities will be postponed including:
n KEEP Afterschool Program will be cancelled today.
n Drivers Education Classes will be rescheduled for Monday, January 28.
n CMS Basketball Game at Cartersville cancelled.
n CMS Wrestling Match at South Central cancelled
n CHS Wresting Match at Heritage Cancelled
n All Calhoun Recreation Basketball Games have been cancelled for the evening.
n The Daddy / Daughter Dance and Mother / Son Sock Hops will be rescheduled for Thursday, January 24th from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
All Georgia Northwestern Technical College activities were closed at 2 p.m. All evening classes were cancelled.
No decision was made as to Friday’s classes by noon Thursday.
Previous story
Three roads in Gordon County were closed Tuesday and others were expected to follow after days of rain saturated the area causing flooding.
Millers Ferry, Sam Hunt Road and Langford Road were all closed early Tuesday morning.
Gordon County Emergency Management Director Richard Cooper said it’s only a matter of time before rivers crest and more roads succumb to flooding.
“Until the rivers go down, you’re not going to see a decrease,” he said. “We’re about to have lots more roads closed, maybe more than we have ever had before.”
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City issued a flood watch for Gordon County and most of Northwest, Ga. on Monday.
Cooper said the flood watch should continue until at least Friday.
“We’re looking at the possibility of minor river flooding and isolated flash flooding,” said Cooper. “We could see anywhere between three and four inches of rain through Wednesday. If it looks bad now, let the water rise a day or two.”
Cooper said the primary risk to Gordon County residents is road flooding, which could be a real possibility as the rain continues to fall, he said.
“If the water is running across the road, you don’t know if the road is washed out, so go a different direction,” Cooper said. “It takes about six inches of water to sweep you off your feet and about a foot to float a light car off the road.”
Cooper advised motorists to use extreme caution on the roadways over the next few days, especially around creeks and rivers.
There is not impending danger to homeowners, Cooper said, but he did encourage residents to monitor their properties for dangerous water levels.
“We don’t know of any threats to homes yet,” he said. “We had some (houses in danger in the past), but a lot of that has been improved with drainage. The road department did a good job of putting new draining pipes in to allow the flow of water to move past the houses a lot quicker.”
Cooper said there is a possibility that the area could receive up to five inches of rain by Friday, but he indicated that was only one of several estimates.
“I hate to go that far out (to Friday), but it is a possibility,” he said.
If roads begin to wash out, Cooper said area media outlets would be contacted to disseminate the information to the public. Residents can also visit the Gordon County government website at: www.gordoncounty.org.
Previous Story
Beginning at 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14 Gordon County and most of Northwest, Ga. will be under a flood watch until late Wednesday evening.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City issued the watch on Monday following frequent rain showers over the last few days and with more in the forecast over the next couple of days.
“We’re looking at the possibility of minor river flooding and isolated flash flooding,” said Gordon County Emergency Management Director Richard Cooper. “We could see anywhere between three and four inches of rain through Wednesday. If it looks bad now, let the water rise a day or two.”
Cooper said the primary risk to Gordon County residents is road flooding, which could be a real possibility as the rain continues to fall, he said.
“If the water is running across the road, you don’t know if the road is washed out, so go a different direction,” Cooper said. “It takes about six inches of water to sweep you off your feet and about a foot to float a light car off the road.”
Cooper advised motorists to use extreme caution on the roadways over the next few days, especially around creeks and rivers.
There is no impending danger to homeowners, Cooper said, but he did encourage residents to monitor their properties for dangerous water levels.
“We don’t know of any threats to homes yet,” he said. “We had some (houses in danger in the past), but a lot of that has been improved with drainage. The road department did a good job of putting new draining pipes in to allow the flow of water to move past the houses a lot quicker.”
Cooper said there is a possibility that the area could receive up to five inches of rain by Friday, but he indicated that was only one of several estimates.
“I hate to go that far out (to Friday), but it is a possibility,” he said.
If roads begin to wash out, Cooper said area media outlets would be contacted to disseminate the information to the public. Residents can also visit the Gordon County government website at: www.gordoncounty.org.
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