You can take a few steps now to help you get prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Helene in northwest Georgia but first, here’s the latest forecast for northwest Georgia.
Our area is under a Tropical Storm WARNING. This means tropical storm force winds are expected. Winds will start to increase around 8:00 PM Thursday night with top winds around 7:00 AM Friday.
Expect MAJOR flooding. Tornadoes are possible. Widespread power outages are expected. Trees, limbs, power lines and other debris will come down. It will become dangerous to be outside or inside a vehicle.
Hurricane Helene is currently a Category 2 hurricane but she is expected to increase in strength rapidly today. She could potentially be a Category 4 at landfall. Check weather forecasts throughout the day.
Here is a helpful check list of things to take care of this morning:
- Secure outside items.
- Charge phones, tablets and devices.
- Fill up your vehicle with gas.
- Buy gas for your generator.
- Pickup any medicine you may need.
- Have groceries for 3-4 days of power outages.
- Keep a chainsaw handy.
- Stay home if possible due to limbs and other debris blowing around.
- This could be a 100 year historical flood for our area. Stay alert!
- Do not drive through flooded roads. Turn around, don’t drown.
- Propane or charcoal so you can cook outside once the storm passes and before power is restored.
- Have plastic or tarps on hand in case windows are damaged by wind or debris.
- If flooding occurs and you are trapped, call 911 and seek higher ground.
- Batteries for flashlights.
- Candles, oil lamps and matches.
We will go live on some of our Facebook pages if possible during the storm. Some of our counties do not currently have volunteer admins but we will do our best to cover all 17 counties.
All pages start with the county name. This is an example using Bartow: Bartow County Georgia Media Group. We have admins in Bartow, Floyd, Haralson, Catoosa, Walker, and Dade and possibly Gilmer. We hope to find volunteers in: Gordon, Polk, Paulding, Cobb, Cherokee, Pickens, Fannin, Murray, Whitfield, Chattooga.
Stay safe everyone. Please notify us of any flooding or damage. If you have photos or videos to share, please send a message to the Facebook page for your county.