01/24/2026
We werenโt planning to update again unless something major changed, but weโve gotten a few questions today, and we donโt want to leave anyone hanging. ๐ And there ๐ก๐๐ฌ been ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ change. Nothing significant, but itโs worth bringing to you.
Before we go any further, letโs all pause and agree to ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, okay? Do you promise? Nod your headโฆ
Okay. Thank you! Here we go. ๐ง
First, the big picture hasnโt really changed for Emanuel County. Most of us are still just outside the main impact area, and the overall message remains the same: our risk is low. That said, todayโs model ๐๐ข๐ tweak some things a little.
First, that tiny sliver of northern Emanuel County we told you about yesterday that was in the minor impact zone? It has gotten just a ๐ฐ๐๐ bit larger. Thatโs all. The forecasted conditions we told you about yesterday are still the same: a majority of our county is expected to see no ice, and ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ง ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ โ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ โ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง.
If ice ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ happen in that expanded-but-still-small northern part of the county, it should be a ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฒ amount (still a tenth of an inch or less). Forecasters call this a โglaze.โ Itโs a thin layer, like what covers your windshield or porch railings, and it typically builds up on elevated surfaces. Thatโs your bridges, overpasses, power lines, tree limbs, etc.
Thatโs the first change: that a ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ bit more of Emanuel County has been added to the minor impact zone. (โMinorโ impacts, as youโll see in one of the attached graphs, simply mean inconveniences to daily life and, for lack of a better word, sketchy road conditions.)
So, in short, could parts of the northern half of the county see a glaze? Itโs possible. But itโs not probable.
The second change is ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง impacts could occur.
โฐ Earlier forecasts showed that any potential issues we might run into would happen earlier in the day tomorrow. Now, weโre looking at a later window. Conditions will start to decline Saturday night into early Sunday morning ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ.
For Emanuel County specifically, if we get any effects from this system, it would most likely be a brief mix of rain and freezing rain late Saturday night, tapering off Sunday morning as temperatures start to warm up again.
Speaking of temperatures, itโs going to be cold. That hasnโt changed. Saturday night, weโre looking at lows of 33, 34, 35 countywide. Sunday, weโre going to see it warm up during the day: highs in the upper 50s to near 60 in the late afternoon before plunging back down to the mid-30s during the night. Those daytime highs on Saturday will be good for us because it should help limit how much of that ice ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ sticks around.
As for the wind, like we told you yesterday, this weekend is still going to be quite breezy. Weโre looking at gusts of 20 to 25 miles per hour at times. This is slightly down from yesterdayโs report, but again, Iโm not sure your golf ball will fly straight. (It probably doesnโt anyway, but I digress.)
One more thing before we wrap up, and this part matters a whole lot even if we get 0 ice anywhere in the county. Behind this system, much colder air is coming in. By early Tuesday morning, Swainsboro could dip to around ๐๐ยบ. (Admittedly, that temperature is from the iPhoneโs weather app and not from NWS, but the rest came straight from their briefing.) Thatโs cold enough to cause issues ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค๐๐ง๐.
So, this is a good time to:
* wrap your pipes;
* take care of your animals;
* and make sure youโve got what you need to stay warm early next week.
Think of it as a two-for-one preparation situation: winter weather vigilance for the weekend, plus regular cold-weather prep for what follows.
โ
So, where things stand right now? ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ-๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฒ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฒ. Areas along and north of I-20 remain the ones with the biggest concern, so, again, check on your folks up there. Unless theyโre [insert a team you donโt like] fans.
No, but seriously, some general advice: ๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค๐๐ง๐, ๐ ๐จ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก! ๐๐จ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐จ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก! For our directionally-challenged friends, thatโs Louisville, Sandersville, Augusta, Waynesboro, Macon, Athens. Basically, pick out where you think Atlanta is, draw a big olโ circle about three-quarters of the way down the state, and stay out of that area. Grow your wings and migrate, little snow birds!
Weโll keep an eye on things and update again if something meaningful changes. Please keep your eye on the weather in case something else shifts. Weโve got some wonderful, very skilled, knowledgeable, studied regional TV meteorologists, and weโre in one of the small parts of Georgia that is covered by 2 different markets. Weโre in the Augusta DMA and the Savannah DMA. Some food for thought for whatever channel you tune into: keep in mind where that station is headquartered and what impacts theyโre most likely going to get and cover. Augustaโs coverage will look vastly different than Savannahโs, as it should. Thatโs good perspective to have as a viewer.
The National Weather Service will brief again tomorrow, and you can find that on their website. For now, weโll link todayโs in the comments.
Have a good rest of your Friday evening!
