The first weekend of the new year could be a dangerous one for the 80 million Americans who are in the path of what authorities are calling a “historic” winter storm. As the weather system that has already devastated western states sweeps eastward, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for parts of Georgia, the Carolinas and Alabama that begins this afternoon.

Although Winter Storm Jonas is now a part of history, the possibility of severe winter weather still exists this season. The Electrical Safety Foundation International reminds the public that electrical dangers associated with downed power lines, portable generators, and submerged electrical equipment can still cause injuries and deaths once a snow or ice storm has ended.