Snow Day for Metro Atlanta-Office Closed
January 10, 2011
Sleet, Freezing Rain Worsen Conditions
Posted: 7:05 am EST January 7, 2011Updated: 4:20 pm EST January 10, 2011
ATLANTA — Drivers who tried to venture out Monday found themselves stranded along area roadways.
In metro Atlanta, the snow had stopped falling by Monday morning, but falling sleet and freezing rain threatened to worsen treacherous road conditions.
Many streets and highways across metro Atlanta and north Georgia are coated with ice, and because temperatures won’t rise above freezing, there is no immediate end in sight.
“We have received numerous calls regarding abandoned vehicles on the roadway and stranded motorists,” said Fulton County police spokesman Kimberley M. Everett.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Jodie Fleischer spoke with a Georgia Department of Transportation road crew employee, who summed up the situation in four words: stay off the road.
“It’s going to be a while before emergency responders can get to you,” one crew member said.
Severe Weather Team 2 chief meteorologist Glenn Burns echoed the message.
“What’s ahead is a very grim scenario,” said Burns. “Even though they salt the roads and sand the roads, we still get more freezing rain and freezing drizzle developing after that.”
A winter storm warning was canceled for metro Atlanta and north Georgia Monday afternoon, but it was replaced by a freezing rain advisory that will remain in effect until 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Freezing rain, which is rain that freezes on contact with surfaces that are 32 degrees or lower, would continue possibly until Wednesday, Severe Weather Team 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said. He said very little melting will occur because temperatures will not go above 32 degrees until Tuesday afternoon.
“The snow pack and ice pack is likely to stay here right through the rest of the week.”
DOT salt trucks hit the streets, working to keep the roads clear. Georgia Department of Transportation representative David Spear said 1,000 workers and almost 600 pieces of equipment were out statewide.“People just need to stay in today. It’s not a joke,” Spear said.
Nitz said snowfall totals should reach up to six inches.
Channel 2’s Richard Elliot went to midtown Atlanta, where a DOT officer was digging out a driver stuck in the snow.
Abandoned cars across metro Atlanta streets and interstates demonstrated the danger of road conditions. Ten abandoned cars were lined up on Interstate 20 near Flat Shoals Road.
A MARTA bus spun out on Interstate 85 early Monday morning. A few hours later, MARTA officials said bus service was canceled for the day and rail service was delayed.
“Bus service will be temporarily suspended for Tuesday until conditions improve enough to allow vehicles back onto the streets,” MARTA representative Cara Hudgson said.
The storm system prompted many school districts to cancel classes and airlines to cancel hundreds of flights Monday. Some of metro Atlanta’s biggest school districts have called off classes for Tuesday, too. CLICK HERE for a complete list of closings.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called a news conference late Sunday and asked people to stay off area roadways.
Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in Georgia as a result of the winter storm. Perdue issued the executive order Sunday night hours before the storm was supposed to hit. It was his last act as governor. Gov.-elect Nathan Deal was sworn in Monday. Deal canceled all nonessential inaugural activities for Monday due to winter weather. Neither the Prayer Breakfast at Mount Paran nor the Celebration at Philips Arena was held.
Georgia Power officials said they put all employees on standby to prepare for potential mass power outages. By 4 a.m. Monday, about 600 North Georgia EMC customers in several northwestern counties were without power due to snow-laden tree limbs falling across power lines. Tree-cutting crews assisted line workers to clear fallen trees across roads and power lines, North Georgia EMC said.“In an ice storm, customers should be prepared for the possibility of widespread outages and possibly extended outages. We recommend that they do whatever they need to be prepared for that,” Georgia Power’s Mike Williams told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik.
Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Terri Pope said the state was getting ready to use a snow plan put into effect last summer.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in advance of the winter storm.
Delta Air Lines canceled 330 flights Sunday and another 1,400 flights Monday. Airtran Airways flight cancellations totaled 330 Monday.
Both airlines are allowing passengers whose flights are canceled to change them without fees.
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