Forecasts of some of this winter’s coldest weather yet and possible snow and ice arriving by Tuesday prompted Bulloch County and Statesboro officials to begin preparations Friday.

A warming shelter is slated to open at 5 p.m. Monday at the Pittman Park United Methodist Church social hall. Bulloch County Public Works could spread gravel on some bridges known to ice easily, and the Georgia Department of Transportation reportedly was prepared to take action to keep “evacuation route” highways, such as I-16 and possibly U.S. 301, open.

But when county, city, school system and university officials emerged around midday Friday from a planning session in the Bulloch County Emergency Operations Center, they emphasized both a high level of uncertainty and a need for residents to be prepared.

“I think the biggest thing right now is just urging people to be ready,” said Bulloch County Public Safety Director Randy Tillman. “This is something that could change and has changed daily on the forecast as far as whether we’re going to get snow or sleet and ice. …

“One thing that is pretty definite is it’s going to be cold, extremely cold, so preparations for people, pets and pipes are something that we need to make sure we go ahead and do now,” he said.

Supplies such as insulating wraps for water pipes could “go off the shelves pretty quick,” Tillman added, urging area residents “to go ahead and not wait till the last minute.”

“Any elderly people that you have in the family or in the neighborhood, it would be great to go ahead and check with them to make sure that they’re ready to weather this storm, whether it is just an extreme cold event or if we do get some type of winter mix,” he said.

Weather forecasts for next week had been changing – slightly to the better for the immediate area – while the officials met in the EOC between 11 a.m.  and noon Friday.

50% chance of snow

But as of midafternoon, the National Weather Service on its website, www.weather.gov, still predicted what would be severe winter conditions for the middle on next week in the usually balmy-to-mild Georgia Southern region.

After a 100% probability of rain on a fairly warm Saturday and a 30% rain chance Sunday, the forecast for ZIP code 30458 showed sunshine but a high temperature of only 41 for Monday, or Martin Luther King Day.

Colder days and nights are forecast to follow, beginning with a low of around 23 degrees Fahrenheit Monday night. The predicted high temperature for Tuesday is “near 38” with a 40% chance of snow during the day. Then for Tuesday night, the Weather Service has predicted a 50% chance of snow, with a low temperature around 22.

Low around 16

The weather.gov forecast shows a 20% continued chance of snow until 1 p.m. Wednesday, with snow giving way to sunshine that afternoon. But for Wednesday night, the NWS meteorologists have predicted the coldest temperature yet this winter, a low “around 16” for Statesboro.

If the area were to get a quantity of sleet, freezing rain or both, the “winter mix” Tillman spoke of, accumulations could occur on trees and power lines, as well as roads. So power outages also become a concern.

“Even though we have great companies – the EMCs and Georgia Power – they can only work so fast, especially in cold, icy conditions, and if we do start to see some ice buildup on the roads, we just urge people to stay home,” Tillman said. “If you absolutely have to go somewhere, be cautious. … But try to stay off the roads.”

Bulloch County does not have equipment for salting roads or plowing snow, but the Public Safety and Public Works departments and Sheriff’s Office will be monitoring the bridges, which tend to cool faster than surface roads, officials said. Public Works does have the capability to apply gravel to bridges if needed, and may “pretreat” a few of ice-prone bridges.

National Weather Service Forecast

• Monday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.

• Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38.

• Tuesday night: Snow likely, mainly before 1a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

• Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of snow before 1p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 37.

• Wednesday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 16.

• Thursday: A slight chance of rain or freezing rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Shelter from cold

The shelter at Pittman Park United Methodist Church on Fair Road in Statesboro, scheduled to open at 5 p.m. Monday, will be a refuge for people without sufficient home heating or who are homeless, county officials said. Volunteers from local nonprofit agencies and the church will staff it.

Once opened, the shelter at Pittman Park could continue to be available while there is a need, and the planners have other shelters lined up to open as necessary, said county Emergency Management Agency Director Corey Kemp.

He and Dal Cannady, communications director for the county commissioners, suggested that area residents who would be able to stay home should stock up with a few easily prepared food items and other necessities, just in case.

“We’re encouraging folks to have enough canned goods and things, the basics,” Cannady said. “Have enough stuff you can stay home a day or two.”

School decision Monday

After Friday’s meeting, Superintendent Charles Wilson said the Bulloch County Schools would be making preliminary preparations but waiting for more definite predictions.

“A lot could change between now and Monday, so we’ll make the decision on Monday and communicate out to parents, and meanwhile we’ll ask people to prepare and wait to hear,” Wilson said. “We want to be careful, but at the same time we have to keep in mind we don’t want to unnecessarily lose any more school days.”

The schools, he noted, already lost about 12 class days to the storms in fall semester 2024.

Hayley Greene, the Bulloch County Schools public relations director, also attended the multi-agency planning session and later issued a winter storm safety alert.

“The district is also maintaining contact with the Bulloch County Emergency Management Agency,” she wrote. “The school district will make a final decision by 5 p.m. on Monday, January 20, regarding any necessary changes to the school schedule for Tuesday and the rest of the week.
“Any changes will be communicated to families through the school district's mass messaging systems using telephone, email and text messages, plus social media and local media,” Greene added. “Remain alert and make plans for your family now in case there are any disruptions to the school schedule.”

Officials from various agencies will meet again Monday to assess the situation and make any further decisions, Kemp said.

He found a change that appeared Friday morning in a digitally displayed weather forecast map encouraging.

“Currently we have it displayed on the screen, and you can see it shows no ice. It shows only blue. I would love to see only blue, not that pink.”

Pink would mean ice accumulation. Blue means snow is forecast.