Warming Shelter Opens In Bartow County

CARTERSVILLE, GA -- While many areas in Bartow County have received quite a few inches of snow, winter weather conditions are expected to worsen and more precipitation is in store as we move into Friday evening. The Bartow County Fire Department said on its Facebook page that 5 inches have already been reported at the county's Emergency Operations Center.

The National Weather Service early Friday issued a Winter Storm Warning for Bartow County and much of northwest Georgia, as the area is expected to receive between 2 to 4 inches of snow through early Saturday (locally higher amounts are possible, particularly in higher elevations).

The snowfall has propelled the Cartersville City School System, Bartow County schools, local city and county offices, various businesses and post-secondary educational institutions to close operations early.

The county Fire Department also said a warming shelter opened at 1 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the county's Senior Center at 33 Beavers Drive in Cartersville. Bartow Fire Chief Craig Millsap added firefighters and EMS personnel have responded to several accidents, none of which have resulted in serious injuries.

"Conditions have deteriorated quickly and we are getting reports of icy patches on the roadways," he said late Friday morning.

Power outages have also been reported across the county. Cobb EMC's storm outage map indicates less than 70 of its customers are without electricity while Georgia Power's map shows about 5,000 customers are offline.

Cartersville police are also asking motorists to drive with caution if they have to get out onto the roads.

"Leave plenty of room for the car in front of you and leave yourself an exit," the department added.

As we push through the Friday afternoon and evening rush hour, the National Weather Service reminds us that slick and dangerous road conditions are possible, particularly on elevated bridges and overpasses. Of course, these conditions are expected to deteriorate throughout the day and into the night and Saturday morning.

You should also be prepared for some significant reduction in visibility at times, the agency said.

Images via Cartersville Police Department