ATLANTA — The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a storm warning just after midnight as schools, road crews and public safety officials in Dawson, White and Lumpkin counties prepared for the first winter storm of 2017.

Schools in White and Lumpkin counties announced they will close at noon today and some schools have altered their athletic contests scheduled for today.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal plans to declare a state of emergency for 79 counties – including Dawson, Lumpkin and White.

The NWS said that some areas could get up to four inches of snow. Lumpkin County Emergency Services Director David Wimpy said one official told him the higher elevations of Lumpkin could get up to eight inches.

The winter weather is expected to begin early Friday evening as rain, snow or a mixture of both, becoming all snow overnight tonight. Officials say snow should end Saturday morning. Temperatures Friday evening will be in the low to mid 30s, making roads slick and travel hazardous.

White County is expecting snowfall of between four and five inches. White County Public Safety Director David Murphy advises the county Emergency Operation Center will activate at 7 PM Friday and will remain on partial activation until the weather threat has ended.

All fire stations will be manned beginning Friday evening and until such time the response phase of this event is completed. According to Murphy, all Public Works crews are prepared and ready to respond and pre-treat if necessary, they will begin shift operations Friday as well.

The Georgia Department of Transportation will begin pre-treatments for our area and region at 7 a.m., Friday morning. First focus will be on interstate highways, and main state routes such as US Hwy 129. The DOT will work 12 hours shifts beginning Friday morning for 24 hours operations.

Fetchyournews.com will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.