Northeast Georgia is in for a healthy amount of precipitation this weekend, and the likelihood some may turn to snow by Friday night continues to increase.

A winter storm watch is in effect for Northeast Georgia from 7 p.m. Friday through 1 p.m. Saturday. Hall County could get up to 2 inches of snow, according to National Weather Service forecaster Keith Stellman, based on the latest forecasts as of Wednesday afternoon.

He said any likelihood of snow rather than rain after midnight Thursday would be in the mountains, but Friday night into Saturday morning is when a wider swath of Northeast Georgia could feel the effects of winter weather.

“Our confidence is increasing that some accumulating snow (will) fall in that area,” Stellman said.

The weather service lists a chance of rain and snow Friday night and Saturday morning, with a 50 percent chance of precipitation Friday night and a 40 percent chance Saturday. Stellman said there’s a chance of some sleet mixing in.

Perhaps the best news is that freezing rain “shouldn’t be an issue,” Stellman said, if the forecasts don’t change.

The Georgia Department of Transportation and area power companies are gearing up to respond if wintry precipitation occurs.

Katie Strickland, district spokeswoman for the DOT, said the agency would do any pretreating of roads Friday. She said the DOT is closely tracking the forecast and “sitting on ready” to stay ahead of the curve.

Jackson EMC spokeswoman Bonnie Jones said linemen and customer service representatives are on call in case winter weather hits.

“We’re watching the weather very closely,” Jones said.