Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect changes to class, activity and transportation schedules. Please be advised of the changes noted at the bottom of the article and stay safe.
Put the shorts and dresses back in the closet and grab some winter coats, gloves and scarves. A wintry mix with freezing rain, and possibly snow, will arrive in Savannah late Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service in Charleston issued ice storm warnings for Effingham County, and inland Chatham, Bryan and Liberty counties. Forecasters say this arctic cold front moving southeast could up to a half-inch of ice.
“The rain is expected to transition into freezing rain in the late afternoon, early evening Tuesday,” said Julie Packett, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Charleston.
The highest temperature on Tuesday — about 39 degrees Fahrenheit — will be around 7 a.m. From there, temperatures will continue to drop as rain sweeps through Chatham County.
The freezing rain “could actually convert over to snow late Wednesday, early Thursday,” Packett said.
The last time Savannah saw snow was in February 2010, when a thin blanket of snow and ice fell across town. There were several power outages in Effingham County, flights delays and hazardous road conditions.
John Wetherbee, a meteorologist at WTOC-TV, advises everyone to stay off the roads.
“Don’t go on the roads,” said Wetherbee. “Nobody knows how to drive in snow around here. Nobody can drive on ice.”
The worst parts of this weather system will come in during commuting times — Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
“If you have a class that early Wednesday morning,” Wetherbee said. “If you can’t walk to it consider other options.”
Wetherbee’s offered several tips to help combat the cold, such as reversing ceiling fans to circulate warm air down into the room, plugging up gaps between window and door frames and ensuring chimney flues are closed.
For more tips from Wetherbee, check out “Ice Ice Baby: arctic temperatures aren’t so vanilla.”
To see the latest forecast updates, go to weather.com and share your snowstorm pictures with us across our social networks!
UPDATES:
- All classes at 5 and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28 are cancelled
- All classes on Wednesday, Jan. 29 are cancelled
- SCAD busses will stop operating at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28
- Dining services in student housing will be open Tuesday evening and Wednesday.
- All of the academic and administrative buildings will be closed from 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28 and will reopen Thursday, Jan. 30
- Classes and extracurricular activities will resume on Thursday, Jan. 30
- The Pixar and J.C. Penney presentations scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28 and Wednesday, Jan. 29 are canceled