ATLANTA — Georgia Emergency Management said the state is on an elevated monitoring status for the next 24 to 36 hours because of the winter weather.
Channel 2's Richard Elliot spoke with Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who said the state is ready for whatever comes its way.
At last check, GEMA has not yet fully activated its operations central but they are closely monitoring the forecast.
“I think we’re in great shape,” Deal told Elliot on Thursday afternoon.
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A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 5 a.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday.
Deal said state agencies including GEMA and GDOT are monitoring the approaching weather very closely and are ready to respond.
“I’m told that the worst weather is probably going to be tomorrow night after the temperatures begin to drop, although the snow is probably going to already start tomorrow morning for maybe even late tonight,” Deal said.
The governor has had to deal with a number of weather emergencies during his two terms in office. His first inauguration in 2011 had to be moved indoors because of icy weather.
After what was seen as failures by the state’s response to icy weather early in his administration, deal has beefed up GEMA’s ability to respond to a major weather crisis.
Deal told Elliot that he now feels confident Georgia is ready for bad weather.
“We’ve had our share of emergencies. I think we have learned from those circumstances. I know we have beefed up our training. We’ve beefed up our personnel in terms of number of people, the amount of equipment that is now available, and the preparation in terms of deicing,” Deal said.
A GEMA representative said officials will continue to get briefings from the National Weather Service and maintain an elevated monitoring status.
The governor is confident GEMA can respond to whatever comes our way.
“We still hope it doesn’t come,” Deal said.
The governor told Elliot he is most concerned about potential icy roads and urges drivers to be careful on the streets.