Oglethorpe County officials are preparing for storms and as much as 6-8 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Helene, which is expected to make landfall on the gulf coast of Florida early Thursday.
Public Works director Adam Nation said the county is doing its “normal storm prep” of fueling equipment and sharpening saws.
“We do ask that if we have an event for the residents to stay off the roads where we can do our job safely,” Nation said. “We are in contact with the National Weather Service, getting updates every 3-6 hours.”
Josh Robinson, the deputy director of Oglethorpe County EMS, said county officials met Tuesday for a weather briefing.
Helene was expected to become a hurricane before it hits Florida on Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service. One of the projected paths places it heading into Northeast Georgia on Thursday night.
The Athens area is expected to receive 6-8 inches between Thursday and Friday, according to UGA’s Office of Emergency Preparedness.
“We anticipate large amounts of rain, downed trees, power outages and flash flooding,” Robinson said. “Impacts to our area can be expected Thursday night through Friday. Of course, we will know more as the week progresses.”
Georgia Power customers can report outages at geogiapower.com/storm and Rayle EMC customers can go to rayleemc.com/outage-center.
“To Georgia farmers and producers in the potential impact zone — now is the time to prepare and make a plan to keep your family and your farm safe,” Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a release. “As the storm approaches, we urge all Georgians in its path to remain vigilant and follow a trusted news source for updates.”