Pickens County battered by storms

JASPER, Ga. – Authorities are urging citizens to exercise caution on the roads today after Pickens saw numerous trees down and power outages during the night due to storms.

The National Weather Service is continuing its Flood Warnings for the area through Saturday Morning and has added a sever weather statement saying,

Wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph will be possible through the rest of the day for portions of northern Georgia. These enhanced wind speeds combined with extremely saturated soils from the persistent rain have resulted in conditions very susceptible for trees to become uprooted and blown over. Trees may be blown onto structures, roadways or powerlines causing further power outages across the area.

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office also cautioned citizens saying, “Please, exercise EXTREME caution as you leave your homes this morning. Please watch for low hanging wires and limbs.” They reported numerous trees down and even closed both Grandview Road and Refuge Road in the A.M. hours.

Amicalola Electric company is also reporting major outages in the area as they continue dealing with the storm. With 107 outages, they have reported close to 4,000 homes without power today. While much of these outages came in the area of Talking Rock to Mole Mountain on the Eastern side of Pickens, there are others affected all over the county. Crews are currently attending to these and working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

While school is currently out in Pickens County for the scheduled Winter Break, February 18th through February 22nd, those who may commute out of the county may run into slow and delayed buses from debris and trees there as well, as neighboring counties have reported slow and delayed bus routes.

There are still roads partially blocked by trees and debris, citizens should take every precaution for slower travel times and be more aware as you travel in the days to come.