Winter Storm Cora brought four inches of snow to Gilmer County, according to Emergency Management officials.
Friday’s snowfall impacted all of north Georgia. It was the first time more than an inch of snow has been recorded in Atlanta since 2018, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
NWS put a “winter storm warning” in effect from Friday morning to Saturday morning. Cold conditions and refreezing persisted into Monday.
“Our biggest priority is safety when there’s any kind of emergency situation in the county,” Emergency Management director Sharon Courson said.
Courson explained that through the weekend, multiple departments worked tirelessly to keep each other, and the community informed about the storm.
In a rare occurrence, Gilmer County schools closed their doors Friday and Monday to account for the icy conditions on roads. School was canceled for students on Tuesday, while staff members were encouraged to come in at 10 a.m. if they could.
“To simply say it, if we can’t run buses, we can’t have school,” Gilmer County Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley said. “We really didn’t expect it to go into Monday… but that’s OK. We’ll make up the time.”
The courthouse and all county offices for non-essential employees were also closed, returning to their normal hours on Tuesday.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a statewide “state of emergency” on Thursday, asking people to limit travel as much as possible while crews worked to clear roads.
The Georgia Department of Transportation treated major roadways through the weekend, while Gilmer County Public Works plowed and salted local streets. Hills and shaded roads became the main issue for drivers, with black ice being a concern.
All roads in the county became “treacherous” and “impassible” on Friday, according to Gilmer County deputies, with road closures lasting through Saturday.
The Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Gilmer County Fire and Rescue, worked to help people that may be stranded on the roads.
Deputies responded to wrecks, drivers sliding into ditches and abandoned vehicles. GCSO staff members also became stranded.
A video posted to GCSO’s facebook page showed the dangers of driving, where an SUV appeared to slide down a hill, crashing into two other vehicles.
It happened along Ogden Drive in the Coosawattee River Resort on Friday. No one was seriously injured, “but many could have been” according to Gilmer County deputies.
“That is a prime example of why you should stay off the roads during one of these ice and snow events, because our terrain here is hilly and curvy,” GSCO Captain Frank Copeland stated when asked about the crash. “It doesn’t bode well for people trying to drive on those roads in that condition, It’s just not safe.”
The Gilmer County Warming Center in Ellijay kept their doors open through the weekend, where Courson said around 11 visitors stayed there each night.
“They have been open for days on end, and I just really want to thank all of those volunteers because it’s a vital, important part of our community,” Courson said.
Georgia Power and Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation did not report many widespread power outages from the storm. County officials were expecting more to occur.
“When we had the summer storms, outages were in the thousands, so that is one of the things I’m most happy about is that people were able to keep their power on,” Courson added.
Courson mentioned that when another storm comes, people can prepare their homes by making sure they have properly-installed generators, and an emergency kit on hand with things like flashlights, non-perishable foods and plenty of water.