Augusta warns of winter storm; warming shelter and situational reports planned

Speaker 1 told the meeting the National Weather Service had placed "Augusta, Richmond County under a winter storm warning starting Friday, 10PM through Sunday afternoon," and noted that "the governor has issued a state of emergency for inclement weather." The speaker said EMA director Keaton briefed officials and projected "between 2 and 5 inches of powdery snow."

Officials emphasized the primary hazard is road conditions rather than infrastructure or power outages: "This poses less than a threat to infrastructure, and power issues, but more of a threat to our roads creating hazardous road conditions," Speaker 1 said. EMA, the speaker added, is coordinating with engineering, transit, recreation and parks and EF ESF partners to prepare roads and infrastructure.

Speaker 1 outlined a situational-report schedule intended to refine response as impacts materialize: "8AM before the storm update, 3PM during the storm, 10PM after the storm." To reduce the need for transit during hazardous driving, the presiding speaker said May Park would remain open as a nighttime warming shelter "from 5PM to 9PM with overnight as necessary," and that "all local NGO shelters are operating as a shelter in place, meaning that people who stay overnight are welcome to stay for their entire day on Saturday and Sunday."

The presiding speaker closed the briefing urging residents to "plan accordingly and please stay warm and please please stay safe."