HIAWASEE, Ga. (AP) - Drivers maneuvered icy roads as snow and sleet fell Wednesday in north Georgia as a winter storm came in from the west.
A winter storm warning covered Georgia's northern region, and Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 15 counties ahead of a wave of snow and ice expected over the next two days. Deal's order covered mostly mountainous counties in the northern part of the state. Some schools there announced closures as the wintry precipitation fell.
On the Appalachian Trail, some northbound hikers knew it was going to be cold, "but they didn't know it was going to be this cold," said Bonnie Tatum, a volunteer at the Top of Georgia Hostel and Hiking Center just off the trail that begins in Georgia and ends in Maine.
"Believe it or not there are a lot of kids out there right now," Tatum said by phone on Wednesday. "From what I understand, Thursday it's going to get down in the 20s and it's going to be 17 mph winds. Who knows what's going to happen with the storm, but it's supposed to be really ugly I think on Thursday."
In a statement, Deal said his order extends through Thursday and frees up state employees and equipment to respond to the wintry weather. The executive order covers Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga, Whitfield, Murray, Gordon, Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns, Pickens, Dawson, Lumpkin and White counties.
The state's far northwest corner was the first hit by the slick conditions, with some snow and sleet reported.
"We're letting a lot of our staff leave early," said Jesse Taymore, general manager at the Georgia Winery in Ringgold, Georgia, a few miles south of the Tennessee line in Catoosa County.
Light frozen precipitation is also possible in Atlanta's northern suburbs.