VALDOSTA — A major winter storm expected to dump snow over much of the South won’t bring the white stuff to Valdosta, but sub-freezing temperatures during the weekend will be a concern, according to forecasters.

The storm is expected to bring as much as four inches of snow to north and central Georgia this weekend, with 78 counties covered by Gov. Nathan Deal’s state of emergency declaration.

Snow isn’t expected to reach as far south as Valdosta, said Justin Pullin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office.

“Valdosta should see a normal rain event,” he said.

Rainfall in Lowndes County was expected to clear out by mid-morning Saturday, followed by bitterly cold air, he said.

South Georgia’s highs for Saturday and Sunday were expected to be in the mid-40s, with overnight lows around 26 degrees both nights, Pullin said. Wind chill factors will make nighttime temperatures feel like they are in the teens, he said.

The city’s coldest night so far this season was Dec. 10, with a low of 27, said Dan Kottlowski, senior meteorologist for the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.

Roads should dry out Saturday before the freezing weather sets in, so frozen roads shouldn’t be a major concern in Lowndes County, he said.

Valdosta residents should bring in plants, protect exposed pipes and avoid prolonged exposure to the nighttime cold, Pullin said.

Kottlowski said his biggest concern with the South during winter weather is the relative lack of insulated plumbing. He said leaving faucets dripping with a thin trickle of water should keep pipes from freezing.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is moving men and machines from South Georgia to the north to assist with storm operations. Trucks and 64 employees from the department’s southwest district rolled out of Tifton Thursday and headed north to help keep the roads clear, according to a Ga. DOT press release.

South Georgia DOT workers will be manning snowplows and brine trucks along Interstate 285 and Interstate 75 in the Atlanta area, working 12-hour shifts, according to a Georgia DOT press release.

Georgia Power will wait and see what kind of damage has been done by the storm before deciding how to deploy its trucks and workers, according to a company spokesman.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.