If predicting the weather were an exact science, grocery and appliance stores around the area would have lost a lot of sales over the weekend, as Union County experienced a best-case scenario for the major ice storm forecast.
The National Weather Service had predicted upward of half an inch of ice across the region beginning Saturday night, which, when coupled with the expectations of prolonged freezing temperatures and gusty winds, could have been catastrophic in terms of downed trees and powerlines causing widespread power disruptions leaving thousands of residents without heat.
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Concern was great enough to prompt Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. President Donald Trump to declare states of emergencies in advance of the storm, and many nearby areas did see significant ice accumulations and impacts, like neighboring White, Habersham and Rabun counties.
But while it dipped below 32 degrees here late Saturday into Sunday, the surface temps in most places never got low enough to freeze the rain that dropped overnight, so a majority of county residents awoke Sunday to wet roads, no ice and their power still working.
Geographically, Blairsville is nestled in a bowl surrounded by mountains to the immediate south and west, which Union County Emergency Management Agency Director David Dyer believes protected much of North Georgia.
The county was so well protected, in fact, that there were no emergency calls associated with the storm Saturday or Sunday, and no reporting of weather-related wrecks either, Dyer said.
That’s not to say Union County experienced zero impacts. Freezing rain fell in the higher elevations, with wind and ice conspiring to topple trees onto Gainesville Highway near the Union/Lumpkin line on Blood Mountain.
Georgia State Patrol took the rare step of shutting the highway down Sunday afternoon until conditions cleared enough for safe travel, and the Union County Sheriff’s Office advised that, with SR 348 closed, too, people needing to head south out of town should use SR 515, though travel was discouraged.
Suches got some ice in southern Union County, knocking power out to several hundred people, though Blue Ridge Mountain EMC was quickly on the case, as usual. The EMC noted on Facebook the “amazing difference in the weather conditions across the region,” highlighting the treacherous state of portions of south Union and Fannin counties.
More rain moved across North Georgia during the day Sunday, leading to concerns about travel Monday. Compounding the unease for public safety officials were gusty wind conditions Sunday that continued into Monday, once again putting trees and powerlines at risk.
While temps stayed well above freezing pretty much all day Sunday, and the rain stopped before it got cold enough to freeze into layers of ice in most areas, whatever water remained on roads, trees and powerlines turned to ice overnight into Monday due to sustained arctic air settling in after the storm.
Union County Schools preemptively canceled on-campus instruction for Monday, so there was no concern for staff and student travel to start the week, and Union County Government decided Sunday to close government buildings Jan. 26 due to the anticipated inclement weather.
Georgia Department of Transportation District 1 Communications Officer Nathan Johnston was encouraging residents Sunday afternoon to simply stay home Monday, as sustained sub-freezing temps would make roadways hazardous from lingering ice.
To improve driving conditions as much as possible, road treatments continued over the weekend after plenty of preparation.
Last week, GDOT applied treatments to state roads here, and the Union County Road Department stayed busy pre-treating main county roadways and known trouble spots as they outfitted trucks with all the snow, ice and tree-clearing equipment county employees might need.
Beginning last Wednesday, the Emergency Operations Center at Union County Fire Station No. 1 hosted four consecutive days of special weather briefings by the National Weather Service, all the while planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
Representatives from all sectors of the county attended, including Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, Union County Schools, Union County Government, the Fire Department, Road Department, Sheriff’s Office, Blairsville Police, Union General Hospital, E-911 Dispatch, the City of Blairsville, the Senior Center and others.
“I’m very proud of all of our folks who have done a lot of preparation for this event,” EMA Director Dyer said. “All the county government, all the city government, all the supporting organizations and all the other stakeholders that would have been affected by this worked together to prepare.
“The citizens did a really good job by staying off the roads and preparing everything they needed just in case there were power outages and they were stuck at home for a couple of days. That’s what we like – we want a prepared and resilient community.
“Everyone needs to keep up the good work. We dodged the bullet this time, but you don’t know what may happen the next time, so it’s always good to be prepared.”
In light of the potential worst-case scenarios, Vogel State Park joined other Georgia State Parks in opening a warming shelter between noon on Saturday, before the storm hit, through Monday, ensuring that people without power or a reliable heat source could safely weather the storm.
And on Friday, the Union County Senior Center sent additional meals to homebound seniors who benefit from the Meals on Wheels Program, guaranteeing that, if roads were impassable early this week, they would have enough food to last until deliveries could resume.
For guidance on winter weather preparedness, visit https://www.ready.gov/.
