Monday, January 15, 2024–8:16 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect, and dangerously cold temperatures are on the way.
According to Floyd County Emergency Management Agency Director Time Herrington, the Georgia Department of Transportation, along with Rome City and Floyd County Public Works crews, are on standby in case roads need to be treated due to snow or ice. Georgia Power is also on standby.
“We could see some type of wintry mix, starting with rain and then turning into sleet, snow of freezing rain,” Herrington said. “We could have issues with slick roadways, and freezing rain on the power lines that could cause power outages. We have to be cognizant of that and plan for how we are going to handle those issues when or if they occur.”
The National Weather Service is predicting the low Tuesday night could dip to 10 degrees. Wednesday night, the low will be in the teens.
According to Herrington, there are plans to open warming stations, as needed.
“If we start getting calls about folks being affected, we do have the capability to open up several warming stations around town,” he said. “As far as the homeless population, we have been in contact with the Salvation Army and the Davies Shelter just to make sure that the residents they have there, during the extreme cold, will be able to stay there until the temperature does come up well above freezing.”
EMA officials will also be meeting with representatives from the Community Kitchen Monday morning to make sure they can feed people during this cold snap.
“I think the main thing is, we need to get the word out to our homeless population to let them know the types of resources we have available,” Herrington said.