VALDOSTA — While the northern two-thirds of Georgia may be clobbered by a major winter storm this weekend, South Georgia should escape the worst of it, forecasters said Thursday.

Gov. Brian Kemp declared a statewide state of emergency Thursday, putting the state government to work at everything from spreading brine on roads prone to icing to activating an anti-price gouging law meant to keep prices of necessities stable.

The worst of the “wintry mix” of snow, rain and sleet is expected north of the I-20 corridor in North Georgia, though snow and ice could occur as far south as Columbus and Macon, the governor’s statement said.

South Georgia, though, will be too warm for snow when precipitation moves through the area late Friday, said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.

“At best (for Valdosta), this will be a one-quarter to a half-inch of rain event,” he said.

Unseasonably cold temperatures during the last week were caused by a series of cold fronts moving through, said Israel Gonzales, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office. At the same time, a low pressure system forming off the coast of Texas is expected to move east this weekend, boosting rain chances, he said.

The weather service forecast for Valdosta calls for a 100% chance of rain Friday night.

Both forecasters said an unusually southerly dip in the jet stream has been pulling colder air into the area.

“It will warm up temporarily with cloud cover” this weekend, Gonzales said.

For the next week, highs are expected to be in the 50s, according to the weather service’s Valdosta forecast, with lows in the lower 30s. The normal temperatures for the city for this time of year are in the low 60s with overnight lows in the upper 30s, Kines said.

Neither meteorologist foresaw any chance for severe weather in South Georgia in the next week.

“I’d even question whether we see any lightning with Friday’s rain,” Gonzales said.

Georgia Military College, headquartered in Milledgeville, announced Thursday that all its facilities would be closed on Friday, including a junior college location in Valdosta.