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Snow blankets county
Warming trend likely this week
4 Weather pic
John and Peggy Raines of Forsyth County load groceries Feb. 12 as snow starts to fall outside a Dawson County supermarket. - photo by Frank Reddy Dawson Community News

Emergency officials braced for the worst Friday, when as much as 4 inches of snow fell across some areas of Dawson County.

  

But the work of county crews, who were out early preparing the roads, seemed to pay off.

  

And it helped that there was no school Friday, thanks to a planned inclement weather day, and many businesses closed early to allow employees to drive home before the roads iced over.

  

“People stayed in or got home early enough that there weren’t many wrecks,” said Lt. Tony Wooten with the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office.

  

Wooten said deputies responded to seven weather-related vehicle incidents Friday afternoon, including two in which people were stuck inside their cars.

No one suffered serious injuries in any of them.

  

On Saturday, the temperature rose above freezing and ice on the roads began to melt.

  

By Sunday morning, most of the snow was gone. The threat of a wintry mix Monday morning did not materialize.

  

“We were lucky that passed over us,” Wooten said.

  

Now, for the first time in what may seem like weeks, sunny days are ahead.

  

The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly sunny skies today through Friday.

  

A break from wintry precipitation may be welcome news to many.

  

January saw 6.1 inches of precipitation, according to data from the National Weather Service, with February totaling about 3.5 inches so far.

  

Those numbers are near average for winter.

  

Four inches of snow in February is not normal, however, as the average snowfall for the month is 0.4 inches. The average snowfall for January is 1.1 inches.

  

A threat of snow and ice has become a near weekly occurrence for North Georgia, but for at least a few days the sun will shine and it may even warm up by the end of the week.

  

Temperatures are expected to hit 43 today, 49 on Thursday and 54 on Friday. The average high for February is 43.

  

By Friday night, though, there’s that now familiar slight chance of snow.

  

DCN regional staff contributed to this report.