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Frosty weather, strong winds sweep through Georgia

11Alive tracked developments all around the region Friday. Here's a look at what took place.

ATLANTA — Temperatures are headed downward Friday, with freezing conditions expected around sunrise.  The issue isn't just that it's cold, however - there are gusty conditions all throughout metro Atlanta, and a wind chill warning took effect in parts of north Georgia starting.

RELATED: Timeline | When the Georgia chill will set in & when it will be coldest

A warning indicated a wind chill as low as negative 20 degrees. There was also high wind warning for counties including Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns, Dawson, Lumpkin and White as well in north Georgia. In and around metro Atlanta wasn't much better - with a wind chill advisory in effect for everywhere south of Dawson, Pickens and Gordon counties, which indicates a wind chill as low as negative-5 degrees. 

Power outages: Check outage updates at Georgia Power here and Georgia EMC here 

11Alive tracked developments all around the region Friday, and you can find those updates below. A reminder that anytime you want to share any conditions you see with us, you can join the 11Alive Storm Trackers Facebook group.

Metro Atlanta, north Georgia weather and traffic updates from Dec. 23, 2022

10 p.m. | 11Alive's Jonathan Raymond captured this icy photo of a frozen fountain in Smyrna Friday night.

8:45 p.m. | 11Alive's La'Tasha Givens gathered information about the do's and don'ts of dealing with bitter sub-freezing weather in Georgia. Here's what to know:

7:00 p.m. The NWS Atlanta said the coldest temperatures and wind chills are still to come. Here's a look at what it feels like across Georgia currently. 

6:30 p.m. | In an update, Georgia Power tweeted crews have restored power to more than 175K customers so far.

6:15 p.m. Strong winds toppled trees overnight in Alpharetta. The Department of Public Safety posted this photo on social media, where crews worked to clean up the city amid the arctic temps.

Credit: Alpharetta Department of Public Safety
Strong winds toppled trees overnight in Alpharetta. Crews with the Department of Public Safety worked to clean up the city amid the arctic temps.

6:00 p.m. 11Alive meteorologist Nicole Hartford spoke about when it'll feel the coldest across the metro and north Georgia. 

5:20 p.m. | Here's the latest on the downed trees and power outages across the metro. Watch 11Alive's team coverage below.

4:30 p.m. Several metro Atlanta counties have extended hours at their warming centers. You can find the full list of locations and hours online here

3:45 p.m. | Georgia EMC is still reporting more than 2,000 power outages across the state. In metro Atlanta, there are currently 335 outages. And in north Georgia, there are 943 outages.

2:35 p.m. Cobb DOT and Cobb Fire said it continues to respond to dozens of fallen trees across the county. A wind chill warning is also in effect in Cobb through noon Saturday.

2:00 p.m. | The NWS canceled the high wind warning in NE Georgia and replaced it with a wind advisory. Sustained winds will be between 15-25mph with gusts up to 40mph.  

Earlier Friday morning, the NWS said there were widespread gusts of 40-50 mph.

1:33 p.m. | 11Alive's Karys Belger was in a Decatur neighborhood where a tree had fallen on a power line on Clifton Springs Road overnight. The tree knocked out power for more than 800 Georgia Power customers. Here's a look at the aftermath.

1:30 p.m. The arctic blast is sweeping the state. Atlanta saw temperatures lower than in Anchorage, Alaska and Toronto, Canada, Friday morning.  

The arctic blast is sweeping the state. Atlanta saw temperatures lower than in Anchorage, Alaska and Toronto, Canada,...

Posted by 11Alive on Friday, December 23, 2022

1:00 p.m. | The Pickens County Sheriff said it has been in contact with the power company officials. They said they hope to have most power restored by Friday evening. 

*Power Update* We have been in contact with some of the power company officials. They hope to have most of the power...

Posted by Pickens County Georgia Sheriff's Office on Friday, December 23, 2022

12:40 p.m. | Cool pictures coming in from the 11Alive StormTrackers page illustrating how cold it is: Steam coming off lakes and ponds because the water is warming more than the air.

Credit: Karen Clavette/Facebook
Credit: Nita Sapp Hastings/Facebook

12:30 p.m. | And here's 11Alive Meteorologist Chesley McNeil's latest update on the forecast:

12:30 p.m. | There's not been a lot to watch out for on the roads today, though GDOT does list an icy patch on I-85 at North Druid Hills Rd. blocking a lane - something to watch out for. And State Route 54 in Fayetteville at Weatherly Rd. continue to be shut down due to downed power lines.

11:50 a.m. | Gwinnett County says it will be opening warming stations beginning at 6 p.m. tonight through 7 a.m. tomorrow. The stations will be located at:

  • Buford Senior Center, 2755 Sawnee Ave., Buford
  • Shorty Howell Park Activity Building. 2750 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth
  • Best Friend Park Gym, 6224 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross
  • Centerville Senior Center, 3025 Bethany Church Rd., Snellville
  • Lawrenceville Senior Center, 225 Benson St., Lawrenceville

For additional bus route information on getting to these locations, click here.

11:20 a.m. | The Georgia Department of Transportation issued a release with some updates, saying the past couple of days' worth of road prep efforts left the region with "mostly dry and passable road conditions today." 

Little in the way of significant traffic incidents or icy roads was reported on Friday morning.

Additionally, GDOT says the I-85 and I-75 express lanes are now open again.

11:05 a.m. | Old Highway 441 South is closed along a stretch in Rabun County due to "numerous trees and power lines down," according to the county's EMS.

11:05 a.m. | A high wind warning that was in place for Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Towns, Union and White counties has ended. Those counties will now remain under a high wind advisory that also applies to virtually all of metro Atlanta and north Georgia.

11:00 a.m. | Thousands remain without power amid the winds and cold - here's a story on how you can check outage statuses: 

9:00 a.m. | Kennesaw State reports that KSU Center, Town Point and 5/3 Bank Stadium will be closed due to a power outage today:

8:30 a.m. | Farther out, GDOT reports State Route 13 is closed in both directions at Poplar Springs Rd. south of Gainesville. There were also some downed power lines closing State Route 54 at Weatherly Dr. in Fayetteville, though that should just about be cleaned up.

8:25 a.m. | Something to watch out for - GDOT reports an icy patch on the I-20 East exit to I-75/85 downtown. Also, some icy patches were reported on GA-400 South at Lenox Rd. and I-285 East south of the city at Old National Hwy.

Credit: GDOT

8:20 a.m. | Reminder that it's not just simply the temperature being cold in play here, but also windy conditions that will have us feeling especially frigid throughout the day.

Credit: WXIA

8:05 a.m. | The power situation meanwhile continues to improve after gusts brought trees down around the region overnight. Georgia Power is now reporting a little under 32,000 customers in metro Atlanta without power (was close to 50,000 earlier in the morning), as well as about 15,000 in northeast Georgia and around 5,000 in northwest Georgia, with a further roughly 4,000 without power in the southwest portion of the metro.

Georgia EMC is now under 10,000 outages in metro Atlanta, down from 18,000 earlier.

8:00 a.m. | Temps have now moved into the teens around metro Atlanta, and we're seeing below 10 in parts of north Georgia. Get ready for a cold day!

7:35 a.m. | We've got a visual on a large tree that came down on Westwood Ave. near the West End neighborhood in Atlanta:

Credit: WXIA

7:15 a.m. | White County reports slick spots on Hwy. 75 north of Helen, but other roads are in "good shape."

7:00 a.m. | We've got a report of snow all the way down in Carrollton!

Credit: Dee Waller Harper / Facebook

6:40 a.m. | Doubling back around to the power situation - improving ever so slightly it looks like. EMC reports a little under 16,000 customers without power in metro Atlanta, about 3,000 fewer than earlier. Georgia Power's map is mostly consistent with where it was about an hour ago.

6:25 a.m. | Here's the latest on conditions from 11Alive Meteorologist Chesley McNeil:

6:25 a.m. | Blairsville's Police Department reports "icy spots and roadways throughout the county."

6:10 a.m. | Police in Jefferson report downed trees and power outages, there's power lines reported down over in Fayetteville, Floyd County is reporting power lines and a tree down, Hall County reports a road closed with a tree on the road, 

5:50 a.m. | Many folks are already without power - Georgia Power's outage map indicates about 50,000 customers have lost power around Atlanta, another 14,000+ in northeast Georgia, several thousand in northwest Georgia, more than 6,000 east of Athens. Georgia EMC's map indicates more than 18,000 in metro Atlanta without power as well.

5:45 a.m. | Leah Breeding Kelly in the 11Alive Storm Trackers Facebook group reports small flurries up in Jasper. 

Credit: Leah Breeding Kelly / Facebook

5:42 a.m. | As far as the roads go, Fulton Industrial Blvd. south of I-20 is dealing with a wreck.

5:40 a.m. | We're also hearing of several downed tree calls in Atlanta, including in Bankhead, Castleberry Hill and near the West End.

5:40 a.m. | The City of Newnan confirms a tree fell onto a home on St. Claire Street, with two people there complaining of minor injuries. One was taken to Newnan Piedmont in an ambulance while the other drove themself to the hospital for evaluation.

Another tree also fell onto a home on Kingsbrook Lane, where one person was taken by EMS to Newnan Piedmont for additional evaluation.

5 a.m. | Good morning! It's definitely a day to stay inside if you can. Temperatures have begun to dip down below 30 degrees in much of the region, and they're going to get colder.

Over the next couple of hours they'll get into the teens in many areas, and below 10 in parts of north Georgia - and that's before you account for the wind chill, which will make it feel below zero in many places.

As far as the wind goes - we've heard several reports of trees down in Newnan overnight. Members of the StormTrackers group are reporting strong winds everywhere from Heard County to Canton to Loganville.

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