Gwinnett Schools To Release Two Hours Early Friday

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Gwinnett County Schools will release two hours early on Friday due to the forecast for a winter storm.

All afternoon and evening activities are canceled, the system announced on its website.

Meanwhile, public safety personnel and other government agencies were preparing Thursday for winter weather expected to hit the Gwinnett area hard this weekend.

Crews were out treating county roads and stockpiling sand and salt in case those roads freeze over when precipitation and freezing temperatures hit late Friday and early Saturday.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, county officials said road maintenance employees will be ready to respond to the wintry freeze, with other crews on call and ready to respond.

The county has six plows and six motor graders ready to go when the storm hits.

Gwinnett County Schools had been taking a wait-and-see approach Thursday afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for north and central Georgia, including Gwinnett County, as the likelihood of snow and freezing rain continues to increase for Friday evening and Saturday.

Snow accumulations of 1-3 inches are forecast for a region covering mostly everywhere in north Georgia.

On Thursday morning, the NWS forecast for Atlanta called for a 30 percent chance of rain and snow early Friday, morphing into a 60 percent chance of snow by Friday night. That chance increases to 70 percent by early Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the low temperature Friday night is expected to drop to 28 degrees. The high Saturday should only get up to about 35 degrees, dipping back down to 21 on Saturday night.

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