Winter Storm Watch: Snow in Store for Cherokee?

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for a portion of north Georgia that includes Cherokee County.

In effect from 7 p.m. Sunday through noon Monday, it warns of rain expected to change to snow and possibly sleet north of a line from Rome to Canton to Cleveland.

A winter storm watch means there is a potential for significant snow, sleet or ice accumulations that may impact travel.

Accumulations of a half-inch to two inches, with up to three inches, at higher elevations are possible. 

"Main impacts will be from slick roadways due to snow accumulations and black ice," according to the NWS. "Gusty winds may knock down trees."

Winds increasing 15 to 25 mph with gusts around 40 mph and temperatures falling into the upper teens and 20s are expected.

A rain-and-snow mix is expected to turn to snow across portions of north and central Georgia Sunday night into Monday morning as a strong cold front moves across the region, according to the NWS' hazardous weather outlook. 

"Behind the cold front a bitterly cold airmass will settle across the southeast," the outlook says. "The cold air and strong winds will result in teen and even single-digit wind chills on Monday. By Tuesday morning, temperatures will plummet into the 5- to 15-degree range for north Georgia and 10- to 20-degree range for much of central Georgia." 

In Holly Springs, Sunday night holds an 80 percent chance of precipitation and lows in the lower 20s, according to the NWS forecast. Forecasters predict a 20 percent chance of snow showers Monday before 1 p.m. with highs in the upper 20s and a low of 5 degrees.

One of the coldest Arctic outbreaks is expected to plunge shivering cold air into the South, according to The Weather Channel.

Tell us: how are you preparing for the possible wintry mix?