ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Transportation is encouraging people to stay home and off the roads during the anticipated winter weather this Sunday.
Preparation plays a big role in making sure people are safe and comfortable at home with the chance for snow, ice, and power outages due to strong wind gusts Sunday through Monday.
A Georgia Power spokesperson said to make sure cell phones and computers are fully charged before the winter storm hits, to stock up on non-perishable food, and those who have a pet should have at least a couple of days of food and treats.
“The biggest thing is (to) make a plan now and make sure that you have your plan ready ahead of the weather," Adrienne Tickle with Georgia Power said.
Georgia Power spokeswoman Adrienne Tickle adds the plan should include the entire family and reaching out to neighbors as well.
“Building an emergency plan is important for your family. Know where your family's going to be," Tickle said. "Know where if you need to check on your neighbors because you have elderly neighbors or neighbors with special needs."
Tickle said it's also important to be prepared if the power goes out.
“We encourage our customers to ensure that they have flashlights and that they have batteries available and backup batteries as well to remain safe anytime that they do have a service interruption," Tickle said.
Georgia Power recommends following them on social media to get important updates during the storm. They also have an outage map people can check.
"Getting information is really important, so making sure that you have ways to get the information we have. We're on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook," Tickle said.
What Georgia Power doesn't recommend is lighting candles if the power goes out because of the potential fire hazard if no one is watching them.