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State of emergency in effect before winter storm hits Southeast Georgia

GLYNN CO., Ga. — A state of emergency is in effect as a winter storm is expected to hit Southeast Georgia early Wednesday morning.

Bread, water and snacks to last a couple of days are some of the items people ran out to get as the winter storm started to move through Glynn County.

"That's why we came to Walmart, to buy all the stuff," shopper Melanie Cavelero said.

Temperatures are expected to drop below 30 degrees with freezing rain.

Emergency Management Agency specialist Alec Eaton said the last time the agency dealt with weather like this in Glynn County was in 1989.

"We had to shut down the entire county. We weren't prepared for it," Eaton said.

That’s why the county is making sure it will be better prepared and Department of Transportation trucks are on standby to salt the roads.

"They have trucks that are getting ready for any ice buildup," Eaton said.

With this kind of weather, he said, power outages and black ice are the biggest concerns. Some people said they aren’t taking any chances on the road Wednesday.

"I’m staying in the house all day," shopper Bernadette Bartley said.

Along with having clothes and blankets to stay warm, people are preparing to crank up their heaters.

"Kind of excited. We have our own heating thing. We put kerosene inside and it heats everything up," Cavelero said.

The private schools in the county are closed and public schools have a half-day for public schools.  Government offices are also closed.