Hall County Emergency Management

Now is the time to prepare. Visit alerts.hallcounty.org to receive severe weather notifications.

Our staff is working hard to recover from this past weekend’s flooding event.

(POST UPDATED DEC. 10 AT 8:14 AM TO REMOVE HENSLEY ROAD) Please be advised of the following extended closures due to a road washout: -Webb Girth Road

(POST UPDATED NOV. 5 AT 10:09 AM TO REMOVE BALD EAGLE TRAIL) Please be advised of the following extended closures due to a road washout: -B Clark Road... -Hensley Rd. @ Latty Rd. -Forrester Rd. near Belton Bridge Rd. -Webb Girth Road See more

Hall County is under a FLASH FLOOD WARNING until 4:45 AM Sunday. Several inches of rain has fallen in a short period of time and we have reports of several roads that have flood waters on them. Please do not attempt to drive through standing or moving water.

We are hiring an Emergency Management Specialist. Click the link to learn more!

Don’t forget that we wil be testing our outdoor weather sirens at 10AM this morning. Remember, sirens are intended to be heard outdoors and not inside and will only sound if that particular area is under a tornado warning. Not all locations in the county will be able to hear the sirens. Sirens have been placed in areas where people tend to be outdoors such as parks, ball fields, schools, etc. Visit alerts.hallcounty.org to sign up to receive emergency notifications.

Traffic Alert: Tomorrow (7/9) between 9 AM to 4 PM, there will be limited traffic flow for a section of Jesse Jewell Pkwy between Scotland Ave and Queen City Pkwy. Please plan accordingly for congestion or use alternate routes. Georgia Power is replacing a concrete pole in this area.

We appreciate the partnership with the Gainesville Police Explorers Post 297. They are working hard to help receive and distribute PPE to our region today.

Things are looking better for us this evening however, please remain aware of any changes to the forecast! Thank you to US National Weather Service Peachtree City Georgia for the regular updates on the situation! As always, go to alerts.hallcounty.org for weather notifications in Hall County!

Good rainy morning! Drive safely as their is a lot of water on the roadways! Expect a break in the weather at some point today. We will have to see if we warm up or not and that will determine if we have stronger storms later today. Go to alerts.hallcounty.org to remain aware of any weather notifications for Hall County.

The NOAA NWS Storm Prediction Center has increased the threat to our area for tomorrow to Enhanced Risk which is a level 3 out of 5. There is a risk for thunderstorms, high winds, tornadoes, hail, and flooding rain. Please prepare now to received emergency messaging by going to alerts.hallcounty.org

Below is the #COVID19 Situation Report for 4/18/20. It reflects the numbers from the Georgia Department of Public Health's 12 p.m. update on 4/18/20. You can view the full report here: https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report

Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Hall County until 2:45.

Now that the sun is up we would like to ask one thing of you this morning. If you have property damage please go to the link below and fill out the questions. This greatly assists us and the National Weather Service with collecting storm data. https://www.crisistrack.com/publ/hallGA/citizenRequest.html

Severe weather warnings for Hall County have been canceled by the National Weather Service. The rain should be ending for us soon. Please keep all of the communities affected by tonight's storms in your thoughts. Daybreak will surely bring some distressing images.

The watches and warnings have began to our west. The threat has not lessened. Please remain vigilant tonight as this system moves through.

The latest graphics from US National Weather Service Peachtree City Georgia show the threats posed by the coming storms to be very impactful for our area. Go to alerts.hallcounty.org to sign up for weather notifications for Hall County.

In addition to signing up for a customized alert specific to your address through alerts.hallcounty.org, citizens should also ensure that their Emergency Alerts are enabled on their phone. You may receive the warning twice but it’s better than not at all.

Now is the time for you to have a plan for this evening and overnight. US National Weather Service Peachtree City Georgia has been updating the forecast all morning and it looks like we are in for a bit of a ride tonight. Severe thunderstorms, high winds, tornadoes, hail and flooding rain are all possibilities. Charge your devices, have two ways to be notified of weather warnings (alerts.hallcounty.org is one way) and make sure your family knows what to do in the event that we are impacted. This system will be affecting us overnight which means it will be easy to let your guard down. DON'T get lulled into a false sense of security!

Go to alerts.hallcounty.org to get notified of severe weather! Pay attention to the next 24 hours!

While we have been working diligently to coordinate COVID-19 response throughout Hall County, Mother Nature has been feeling left out. The threat for severe weather in our area is increasing for Sunday and you should prepare now. Make sure you have two reliable methods for notification of severe weather including alerts.hallcounty.org

State of Georgia Situation Report April 2, 2020

STAY VIGILANT GAINESVILLE: A male falsely identifying himself as a Gainesville Police Officer conducted a traffic stop in the area of Limestone Pkwy. and Jesse ...Jewell Pkwy. His reason for stopping a vehicle was due to violating curfew. We DO NOT have a curfew. The suspect vehicle is described as a dark in color Ford sedan, possibly a Taurus, with strobing blue lights inside the vehicle. We ask that our community remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity by calling 911. See more

District 2 Public Health and Hall County Emergency Management is working hard to get our Healthcare and EMS providers the PPE they need distributed. Thanks to Hall County Fire Services for providing a warehouse location to allow for distribution to take place in our area.

Make sure you visit ready.hallcounty.org often to receive the most up-to-date information that we can share with you regarding COVID-19. Remember to like and share this page so you will see information as we post it.

Here is good information from the GA Department of Public Health regarding COVID-19

Good Information to Share Regarding COVID-19 Remember to visit ready.hallcounty.org for additional COVID-19 information! https://dph.georgia.gov//covid-19-information-pow/download

We’re doing our part to help STOP the Spread of Germs. How about you? #coveryourcough #washyourhands #handsanitizer Visit ready.hallcounty.org for more information

Heavy Rain and Flooding Potential! Stay Weather Aware. Visit alerts.hallcounty.org to sign up for free emergency notifications!

WEATHER ADVISORY FOR HALLSOUTHEASTERN DAWSON NORTH FULTON DEKALB FORSYTH GWINNETT WHITE AND LUMPKIN COUNTIES UNTIL 730 AM EST.

**UPDATE** 2/25/2020 Jonathan has been discharged and is heading home. Thank you for all of your continued prayers as he continues his recovery at home. **UPDA...TE** 2/20/2020 Jonathan has been cleared by his cardiologist and is continuing to improve!! They are still monitoring his kidney function and prepared for additional dialysis if it is needed. He is up and walking regularly to the nurses station. Jonathan and Jessica are both so appreciative of everyone who has supported them and lifted them up over the last week but still respectfully ask to limit visitors to allow him time to rest and recover. **UPDATE ** 2/18/2020 from Jessica It is Tuesday. This week has been a long one, yet it has passed by in a flash. So here we are one week later...we have come so far. JB is now getting up out of the bed for brief periods to sit in a chair and has had a couple of short walks around the room with assistance. His renal function is slowly improving and he will undergo another round of dialysis in the morning. His repeat ECHO shows an EF of 55-60. How amazing! He has started to eat a clear liquid diet, although he’s not too pleased with the hospital’s version of chicken broth. He continues to have hemoptisis (coughing up blood) but remains afebrile. He has been unable to lift his right arm and had an X-ray completed. They saw no fractures. They are planning on scheduling an MRI at some later time. Hopefully he will be moved to a cardiac step-down unit tomorrow and will continue to make great progress in his recovery. Thank you to everyone for all of your love and support. It has been nothing short of amazing. **UPDATE** 2/17/2020 from Jessica This week has been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs- progress and setbacks, excitement and disappointments. As his family and his brothers gathered daily in prayer, the Lord was paving the way for his recovery. Initially the physicians and mid-levels decided to leave him intubated for two more days as they worked to pull more fluid off his lungs. By grace the plan changed. Today is the day we have all been waiting for; just before lunch Jonathan finally got extubated. He continues to struggle, enduring pain and nausea. He is currently getting his 4th dialysis treatment and his creatinine is slowly improving. His H&H are normal and his chest X-ray has improved as well. They have removed his ART line and will be monitoring him in the CCU tonight. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he progresses towards returning home to be with his family. #TeamBarton **UPDATE** 2/16/2020 from Jessica Sunday 9:00 pm As the day has progressed JB has made strides towards his recovery. His blood counts are now stable, blood cultures still have no growth , chest X-ray showed some improvement and his chest CT showed no signs of active bleed in his lungs. He had his 3rd dialysis treatment and he’s having some urine output. They removed the SWANZ catheter however he remains intubated for the time being. After having removed almost 10 L of fluid he finally has a 100% oxygen level. We hope for another good night of rest for him. Please pray for continued healing over his body. **UPDATE** 2/16/2020 from Jessica 10:33 am Sunday. JB had a really good night of rest. The dialysis took a lot out of him. This morning he’s awake and writing. He is becoming more aware of his situation. We just keep reassuring him that he’s doing great and it just takes time. He will have another round of dialysis today. I was able to get some sleep last night bc the FD brothers took turns sitting with him. We are just taking each day at a time. Specific prayers: kidneys and his lungs to heal. #TeamBarton **UPDATE** 2/15/2020 from Jessica Around 5am this morning we found Jonathan in good spirits. He was no longer restrained, making eye contact and writing sentences. We were looking forward to having his SWANZ catheter removed and doing another CPAP challenge. Shortly after our visit Jonathan experienced hemoptysis revealing an active bleed in his lungs. He became agitated after suctioning and was re-sedated. A CT chest was ordered. So far Jonathan has had two rounds of dialysis. They have pulled off a total of 5.5 liters. He has been experiencing agitation after the dialysis. As of now he is afebrile and all his vital signs are stable. His O2 sats are in the mid-nineties, which is an improvement. During this agitated period, his family are requesting no visitors to his room. Please fell free to visit Jessica in the waiting room. We will provide an update once we know blood culture and CT results. The family covets your continued prayers. #teambarton **UPDATE ** 2/13/2020 Shortly after lunch, Jonathan's clotting factor reached the level needed to remove the Impella device. Upon removal of the Impella, there was no bleeding at the insertion site. His vital signs remained stable and an echo was ordered revealing an ejection fraction of 50, which is almost normal! They are reporting that Jonathan has the possibility of a full cardiac recovery with no left ventricle damage. Also, they noted clear urine indicating renal function improvement. At approximately 1600hrs, his vent settings were changed to CPAP and he was able to breathe some on his own. We anticipate the possibility of being extubated sometime early tomorrow. His lovely wife remains at his bedside and would like to express her gratitude for all the love and support from Hall County Fire Service personnel. She would also like to thank Chase Mullinax for his phenomenal typing skills. Keep praying! #TeamBarton Original Post At the request of Sergeant Jonathan Barton's family, we offer the following update: On February 11, 2020, Jonathan was participating in physical training and conditioning with a recruit class at the Hall County Fire Services Training Center during which he went into cardiac arrest. Jonathan was immediately attended to by personnel at the Training Center and a med unit was requested for transport. Jonathan was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and a heart cath was performed where a stent was placed. An Impella pump was placed to assist with heart function. Overnight, Jonathan was responsive to his wife, attempting to speak around his endotracheal tube. He experienced several episodes of ventricular tachycardia that were managed by hospital staff. We appreciate your continued prayers for Jonathan and his family. We will update his condition when more is known.

Road conditions in Hall County are in good shape. No flooding reported. The heavy bands of rain that was predicted earlier did not end up occurring, which is good news for us! Locally we have observed 1.5-2 of rain on average. Expect 0.5-1 additional throughout the day. Hall County Sheriff's Office Hall County Fire Services Gainesville Police Department Oakwood Police Department... Flowery Branch Police Department See more

Most flood fatalities occur in cars. Water is extremely powerful, and it only takes one foot of water to move a car. Do not drive through water-covered roadways, especially if you cannot tell how deep the water is and what is below. #gawx

As we wrapped up a weekend snow event we begin to prepare for heavy rain to move in to the area. TURN AROUND DON’T DROWN!

*Power Outage* The downtown area is without power due to a crash. Jesse Jewel Parkway from Main Street to Atlanta Highway is impacted. Utility crews are replacing poles and lines. The emergency repairs are expected to last until noon tomorrow. Please use alternate routes.

DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST SUNDAY

**UPDATE** 10:09 PM I-985 NB at Exit 20 is back open. Please use caution if you are traveling in Hall County and get home safely! Avoid I-985 NB at Exit 20.....multiple vehicle accident, limited visibility due to fog... Gainesville Police Department

Hall County Emergency Management continues to monitor road conditions and we are expecting the residual moisture on the roads to freeze after sunset tonight. Hall County Public Works and Hall County Road Maintenance are working to clear and treat roads and bridges throughout the county. The Emergency Operations Center is still open along with the Call Center that can be reached at 770-718-3300.

We are receiving reports of multiple vehicle accidents throughout Hall County due to road conditions. Please refrain from traveling!

Hall County Emergency Management is activating a call center number for non-emergency requests for assistance, questions, etc for our winter weather event. The phone number is 770-718-3300.

We are receiving reports of snow and/or ice on roadways, mainly on bridges. Georgia DOT, Hall County Public Works and Road Maintenance , and Gainesville Public Works are all working on affected roads within their jurisdiction. The current list of affected roadways are: McEver Road Bridge Hubert Stephens Road Bridge Hwy 52 in Clermont... Hwy 129 & Lakeview Queen City Bridge Mt. Vernon Road at Wahoo Bridge Dawsonville Hwy Bridge at Gainesville Marina Longstreet Bridge Wade Orr Bridge Old Flower Branch Road Dawsonville Hwy Bridge at the Hall County line Lula Bridge Browns Bridge Road @ Keith Bridge Belton Bridge Hall County Government Hall County Sheriff's Office Hall County Fire Services Gainesville Police Department Gainesville Fire Department Georgia Department of Transportation

***UPGRADED*** WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 1 PM EST SATURDAY

Please don't look at flooding conditions as an opportunity to put others at risk. We are glad no one was injured as a result of this incident.

There has been some confusion this morning on whether or not our alerting system was working properly or not. Our system has functioned properly this morning. Let me take a moment to explain exactly how the system works. Sirens: We have 22 outdoor sirens throughout the county. They are activated ONLY if the siren itself is located with the warning polygon. This morning there were no sirens activated due to the fact that there were no sirens located within the warning pol...ygon. This is to avoid sounding a siren in an area that has no threat. Citizen Alert: If you have signed up to receive alerts through the Hall County Citizen Alert site then you will receive, at minimum, tornado warnings along with anything else you signed up to receive. These notifications are sent to you based on the location you entered on your profile. You can add multiple locations if you wish. The notifications will only occur if your listed address falls within the warning polygon. The system notified 568 contacts this morning during the warning. The system does not track your physical location so that is why multiple addresses are allowed (work, school, home, etc) alerts.hallcounty.org NOAA Weather Radios: Those are activated by the National Weather Service and alert by county. If there is a warning anywhere in Hall County then the radio will alert, providing your has a good signal and can receive the alert.

*** Outdoor weather siren test has been postponed*** Due to the current weather conditions and the threat for severe weather late tonight and early tomorrow morning, we will not be testing the outdoor weather sirens today. This decision was made to alleviate any confusion that may exist this morning. The National Weather Service currently plans to continue with the state wide 9 AM NOAA weather radio test. We still encourage schools and businesses to continue with their planned tornado drills.

Day 2 (Feb 4) Thunderstorm Safety. It’s Day 2 of Severe Weather Preparedness Week! Learn the difference between a thunderstorm watch and a thunderstorm warning and make sure you are prepared for both by visiting www.gema.ga.gov Tomorrow morning at 9:00 is the statewide PrepareAThon for tornado safety! Hall County will be testing the outdoor warning sirens at this time. Make sure everyone at your home, school or business knows what to do for the drill tomorrow. You can learn more about sheltering and preparing for tornadoes at www.gema.ga.gov

Thunderstorm Warning for eastern Hall County until 7pm

If you experience any damage during this evening’s storm, please let us know by reporting it at https://www.crisistrack.com/publ/hallGA/citizenRequest.html

Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 6:15 for Northern Hall County

Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 6:15 for Southwest Hall County

Hall County is under a Tornado Watch until 9 PM. Prepare now. Visit alerts.hallcounty.org

Be weather aware today. Severe storms (threat level 2 out of 5) will be entering Georgia later today and affecting Hall County late this afternoon and into the evening. Main threats are: Damaging Winds Isolated Tornados... Heavy Rainfall Lightning Make sure you have at least 2 ways to receive weather notifications. You can sign up at alerts.hallcounty.org to receive weather alerts and warning.

Want to track Santa? Check out this link: https://www.noradsanta.org/embed.html. Kids can also call NORAD to find out when Santa will arrive. Just call 1-877-HI-NORAD

Are you heading out to the Green Street Christmas Parade today? Check out the maps below for information about the parade and also important road closures. Closures begin at 2:30 PM and will last until 8 PM. If you would like to receive information specific to the parade while you are attending then text GREENPARADE to 888-777. Gainesville Police Department

AVOID 985 NB at Exit 8 due to a commercial vehicle accident. 985 NB is shut down at exit 8 for an extended time.

Avoid the area and use alternate routes! Serious injury crash investigation on Limestone Pkwy, near Lighthouse Manor Dr. ***Updates to follow***

In partnership with Hall County Emergency Management, we are working to make sure those who are less fortunate this winter season stay a little warmer.

Just a reminder that we will be testing our OUTDOOR Weather Sirens today at 9:30 AM. THIS IS ONLY A TEST. This is a scheduled quarterly test and is also in conjunction with Georgia's Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Day. Post below if you hear one and where you were. Just remember, weather sirens are intended to ONLY be heard OUTDOORS and only have a range of about 2 miles.

WEATHER SIREN TEST SCHEDULED FOR NOV 6 The audible test of Hall County's outdoor weather warning sirens will occur at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in conjunct...ion with Georgia's Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Day. This will only be a test. The sirens will sound for approximately three minutes. The tornado sirens are tested using the wail alert tone once every three months. Other than these previously announced tests, all sirens should be considered to be an actual tornado warning. Read more: https://www.hallcounty.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=710

HALL COUNTY FIRE SERVICES TO "PUSH" NEW ENGINE INTO SERVICE A new Hall County fire engine will go into service next week following a special ceremony that pays ...homage to the history of fire services. Hall County Fire Services personnel will put the new engine into service at noon on Thursday, Oct. 31 by pushing it into its bay at Hall County Fire Station #7, located at 731 East Crescent Drive in Gainesville. Read more: https://www.hallcounty.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=708

If you aren’t at our Storm Spotter Class you are missing out!! Thanks to UNG-Gainesville campus for hosting us!