Ice Storm Warning remains and Cold Weather Advisory from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday
If you thought the local area had dodged a bullet and we were in the clear, Mother Nature has a surprise for you. According to the latest National Weather Service Update, freezing rain impacts increase in northeast Georgia this afternoon! These areas will stay below freezing as heavier precipitation arrives with additional freezing rain accumulations of 0.25-0.50″ likely. Power outages will increase and road conditions will deteriorate.
All of Gwinnett and a large portion of Walton County is in the affected area.
Updated Jan. 24 at 1 p.m.
A Cold Weather Advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service from 4 – 10 a.m. on Monday for much of central, east central, north central, northeast, northwest and west central Georgia, including Walton, Gwinnett and surrounding counties.
Wind chills from 15 to zero are expected.
Wind chills from 5 to 15 above across much of north Georgia and portions of Middle Georgia are expected with wind chills as cold as 0 in the north Georgia mountains. Avoid prolonged exposure if possible and have a safe heating source, particularly for those who may be experiencing power outages.
Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. Make frequent checks on older family, friends, and neighbors. Ensure portable heaters are used correctly. Do not use generators or grills inside.
Update: Jan. 23 at 12.30 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued an Ice Storm Warning for the local area from 1 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Monday. Significant ice accumulations between 1/4 to an inch of ice expected. We can expect power outages and tree damage due to the ice. Travel could be impossible. The hazardous conditions will impact the Monday morning commute.
Instructions from the NWS
Travel is strongly discouraged. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Prepare for possible power outages. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.
The Warning is for an Ice Storm and covers the counties of: Pickens; Bartow; Cherokee; Polk; Paulding; Cobb; North Fulton; Gwinnett; Barrow; Clarke; Oconee; Oglethorpe; Wilkes; Douglas; South Fulton; DeKalb; Rockdale; Walton; Newton; Morgan; Greene; Taliaferro; Clayton; Henry; Warren.
Update at 6 a.m. Jan. 23, 2026
A Winter Storm Warning has now been issued for counties just north of Gwinnett and Walton counties with Jackson and Hall counties already in the Warning area. According to the National Weather Service, ice accumulations from 0.25″ to 1″ are expected in that area.
“Even just a fraction of an inch of ice has major impacts on roadways and makes travel dangerous! Ice accumulations (while less overall) are also expected across the Winter Storm Watch area and will lead to hazardous travel,” the NWS noted in the latest update. Ice accumulations of 0.10 to 0.75 inches are expected in the Winter Storm Watch area.
According to the NWS, this Winter Storm Warning could definitely be expanded to adjacent counties later today as additional high-resolution models are assessed. Monroe Walton Center for the Arts has cancelled all events for the weekend and Walton County has announced that the following departments will be closed due to the weather conditions; Parks & Recreation, Recycling Centers, Animal Control and Convenience Centers.
We will update with any additional alerts as they come in over the weekend. In the meantime, prepare for the impacts in the local area to begin Saturday afternoon and continue for the remainder of the weekend and into Monday.
Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a State of Emergency in advance of the winter storm
Update at 1 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2026
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch in effect from 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, Jan. 24 through 10 a.m. Monday morning, Jan. 26, 2026.
According to the NWS, significant icing is possible with total ice accumulation around 4/10″ possible in portions of central, east central, north central, northwest and west central Georgia. This includes Gwinnett, Walton and the surrounding counties of Morgan, Rockdale, Newton counties and includes the cities of Monroe and Covington.
Power outages and tree damages are likely due to the ice. Travel could be nearly impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the Monday morning commute.
Monitor latest forecasts for updates on this situation. The NWS is advising all persons should consider delaying all travel. “If travel is absolutely necessary, drive with extreme caution. Consider taking a winter storm kit along with you, including such items as tire chains, booster cables, flashlight, shovel, blankets and extra clothing. Also take water, a first aid kit, and anything else that would help you survive in case you become stranded.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a State of Emergency and is opening an operations center under the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency as well as activating National Guard Troops in case of the need to protect life and property and to ensure continuation, restoration and recovery of essential public services.
You can read the full Executive Order on the State of Emergency at this link.
From the National Weather Service:
This Afternoon: Showers, mainly before 3pm. High near 51. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Tonight: Showers likely, mainly after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 43. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday: Showers likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 51. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: Cloudy, with a low around 34. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
Saturday: A chance of rain showers before 1pm, then rain showers and sleet likely. Cloudy, with a high near 40. East wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: Rain showers and freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet before 10pm, then freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet between 10pm and 4am, then freezing rain after 4am. Low around 26. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Sunday: Rain or freezing rain, becoming all rain after 1pm. High near 38. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Sunday Night: Rain showers likely before 1am, then a slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.
Monday Night:Mostly clear, with a low around 13.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 38.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.
Update Jan. 21 at 6.30 p.m.
A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for North Georgia from 1 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 24 – 26, 2026. At this time metro Atlanta, including Gwinnett and Walton counties, is not included in the watch area. They are, however, in an area that the NWS has indicated possibly could be in a “future southward expansion of the watch.”
At this time, Weather.com has the local area only getting rain mixed with freezing rain on Sunday, however, temperatures as low as 9 degrees are expected on Monday so there is likely to be freezing of any moisture on the roads.
The NWS, however, is still predicting freezing rain on Saturday and Sunday. Current update on weekend weather for Walton County from NWS:
Tonight – A chance of showers before 4am, then a slight chance of showers after 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Thursday – A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly between 10am and 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Calm wind. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Thursday Night – Showers likely, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday – Showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 52. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night – A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 35. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
Saturday – A chance of rain showers before 1pm, then rain showers and sleet. High near 40. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Saturday Night – Freezing rain and sleet. Low around 26. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Sunday– Freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet before 1pm, then rain or freezing rain likely. High near 33. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Sunday Night – A chance of rain or freezing rain before 1am, then a slight chance of freezing rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Monday – Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.
Monday Night – Mostly clear, with a low around 9.
Tuesday – Sunny, with a high near 36.
Tuesday Night – Mostly clear, with a low around 16.
Wednesday – Mostly sunny, with a high near 41.
Initial story Tuesday evening
The are no official weather alerts yet but stay tuned, the probability of them being given by Friday is quite high for the local area. According to Tuesday night’s predictors based of models, Gwinnett, Walton and surrounding areas have a 70 % chance of being in the path of a major winter storm this weekend.
Due to the high probability of it impacting locally, officials in Walton County are making preparations already.
“There are still a lot of variables that could change the weather predictions, but we are holding weather briefings with department heads each day as the weather grows closer so that they can make the appropriate plans for resources and personnel,” said J.B. Whelchel, deputy director of Walton County Emergency Management Agency.
Local first responders are making sure equipment is ready for any calls they may be required to respond to.
“We are making sure our apparatus and fire stations are ready and equipped with additional supplies such as chainsaws, ice melt, snow chains for trucks,” Walton County Fire Rescue Deputy Director Craig League said. “All of our stations have backup generators. Those have been refueled and tested. Also our stations on propane have their propane tanks topped off.”
Monroe Fire Chief Andrew Dykes said the department is doing its normal winter storm preparations such as chainsaw and vehicle preparation.
“However, there’s not a lot that we can do if it turns into an ice storm,” he said.
Since current predictions are leaning more towards ice than snow, and with that comes major power outages, the National Weather Service put out the following advisory for residents to do their own preparations in order to deal with the situation should the latest predictions actually materialize.
According to the NWS current forecast for the local area, the chance of freezing rain on Sunday is now 100%. With temperatures staying very low through Tuesday, the ice is likely to stick around for a few days if it does hit so it is a good idea to take note of the suggestions for personal preparations.
The latest predictors for the weekend and into next week for the local area from the NWS are:
Thursday Night – Showers likely, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday – A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 54. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
Friday Night -A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 34.
Saturday – A chance of rain showers before 1pm, then rain showers and sleet. High near 39. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Saturday Night – Freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet. The sleet could be heavy at times. Low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Sunday – Freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet before 1pm, then a chance of rain or freezing rain. High near 33. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Sunday Night – A chance of freezing rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Monday – Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.
Monday Night – Partly cloudy, with a low around 16.
Tuesday – Sunny, with a high near 37.
We will update with recent information as we get closer to the weekend.
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