Winter Storm Cora is heading toward Georgia in the coming hours and the National Weather Service continues to forecast snow and ice impacts for the northeast Georgia region.

NWS forecaster Keith Stellman said Thursday that the latest forecasts call for less snow than previously thought and instead expect more freezing rain.

“What has changed from (Wednesday) is that we have now upgraded the winter storm watch to a winter storm warning for a large portion of north Georgia, including all of northeast Georgia,” Stellman said. “We still expect the snow to likely move into the region this morning, sometime after 7 a.m. Most of the time it will be snowing, perhaps mixed with sleet, then changing to freezing rain sometime in the afternoon hours.”

Stellman said the sleet and freezing rain is expected to continue through Friday between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

If the increasing ice forecast comes to pass, Stellman said it could lead to major road problems and widespread power outages in the region.

“Traveling will be very difficult tomorrow… We know (the Georgia Department of Transportation) isn’t getting a lot of major roads fixed, and hopefully this will help significantly on the major roads, but the minor roads can be difficult,” Stellman said. ” There is a risk of a power outage beginning to develop as ice accumulates and winds increase Friday evening and particularly throughout the day on Saturday.”

The winter storm warning will cover all Georgia counties north of Interstate 20, meaning the entire northeast Georgia region is included. The warning is in effect on Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.