Residents hunker down in preparation for snow, ice storm
By Becky Long
Publisher
The snow/ice storm “Fern” spared Clay County for the most part with few power outages reported and some icy secondary roads.
School was closed Monday morning and on a two-hour delay Tuesday.
As a precaution Clay County declared a State of Emergency Saturday morning; however, the order was rescinded by Wednesday morning.
The declaration allows the county to qualify for FEMA and other federal assistance in the event of an emergency.
After consultation with the Clay County Emergency Management and Public Safety Personnel, the chairman determined that the conditions that led to the Declaration of a Local State of Emergency in Clay County no longer exists, according to the ordinance signed by County Commission Chairman Rob Peck.
Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Corporation reported a total of six outages at 2:30 p.m. on Monday affecting 33 members Those were expected to be restored by the end of the day.
“BRMEMC remains thankful that we were spared the worst of this storm, but several of our neighbors are still suffering with serious system damage,” they said in an update posted on their Facebook page.
“Please keep these folks in your prayers during the coming days, especially with temperatures dropping significantly this evening and tomorrow.”
BRMEMC reported that icing in Suches, and surrounding parts of Georgia were the most severe.
TVA experienced a historic milestone, meeting the highest power demand in its 91-year history, according to a release from the agency.
Before the storm on Wednesday, Jan. 22, TVA delivered a record 35,319 megawatts of electricity at 8 a.m. when the system temperature hit a frigid 11 degrees.
This surpassed the previous peak of 34,577 megawatts set during Winter Storm Heather on Jan. 17, 2024. Despite the intense demand, TVA’s power system remained stable and reliable throughout the event, according to a release from TVA spokesperson Geraldine Gallman.
In meeting the demands, TVA officials pointed to upgrades they had made to the system.
Because the Tennessee Valley’s population is growing three times faster than the national average, TVA is planning for the future by investing nearly $16 billion over the coming years, they said in a release.
This includes adding 3,500 megawatts of additional generation, 1,400 megawatts of which were completed last year, along with 800 megawatts of secured solar energy.
No need to put away those heavy coats and scarves yet.
“The Weather Channel” predicts 60 percent chance of light snow on Saturday with a low of 7 degrees in Clay County.