Georgians are bracing this week for more pain from the winter storm, which drenched the state with freezing rain over the weekend, knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses and kept hundreds of flights in and out of Atlanta grounded.
An ice storm warning will remain in effect for most of the northern part of the state through Monday morning, and more power outages and “impossible travel” are expected in many locations, the National Weather Service said.
“Dangerously cold nighttime temperatures from Monday to potentially Thursday will be an added concern for those still without power and vulnerable populations,” the National Weather Service added.
Parts of 24 state routes were closed Sunday because of falling trees, mostly in North Georgia. Between Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, Georgia law enforcement authorities received reports of 25 vehicle crashes. State officials urged motorists to stay off the roads.
“I want to remind everybody, we’re not out of this event,” Josh Lamb, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, said during a news conference Sunday afternoon. “To keep you and your loved ones safe, we recommend staying at home and staying indoors. And keep your pets inside with you while you are at it.”
In addition to encasing cars in ice, the storm halted mass transit services and prompted grocery stores to modify their hours. Public school systems and colleges across the state announced they’d switch to remote learning or cancel classes altogether Monday.
Ahead of the storm, Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency and deployed 120 Georgia National Guard members to the northeast part of the state for clearing routes.
More than 100,000 homes and business across Georgia were without power as of Sunday afternoon, including tens of thousands in the Atlanta area, according to poweroutage.us.
Georgia Power and the state’s electric membership cooperatives said they were prepared to restore power but warned icy conditions could hamper their efforts. They urged customers to plan for the possibility of extended outages.
“Repeat outages are a concern with ice storms and/or repeat freezing or high winds,” Georgia Power spokesperson Joshua Peacock said. “It’s a great reminder for customers that this storm may not be over quickly, and winds/refreezing will continue to be a challenge.”
More than 1,100 flights remained canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday afternoon, according to flight tracking website flightaware.com. Nationwide, more than 11,800 flights were canceled as of Sunday.
Katie Karlovitz of Syracuse, New York, arrived at the airport Sunday morning, hoping to start her three-week vacation on sunny Bequia in the Caribbean Sea. The second leg of her trip to Saint Vincent was canceled, so she found a hotel room and planned to await her rescheduled flight. She hoped she wouldn’t miss the ferry from Saint Vincent to Bequia when she lands Monday.
“It’s like a perfect storm of things,” she said.
The automated people mover that connects passengers between Atlanta’s airport, local hotels and the rental car center was down Sunday morning. Instead, buses were shuttling passengers to the domestic terminal.
Citing unsafe road conditions, MARTA suspended bus service on Route 185, an Alpharetta line that runs from the North Springs Station to Old Milton Parkway along Ga. 400. Trains were operating on special schedules Sunday because of the weather. The Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority suspended its commuter bus service for Monday because of the icy conditions.
Meanwhile, more than 360 Publix grocery stores across the Southeast were operating with modified hours, including many in the Atlanta region.
About 200 power outages were reported in Suches, a small community in North Georgia’s Union County.
“There are a few slick roads in the southern part of the county,” said David Dyer, Union County’s Emergency Management Agency director. “High winds. Otherwise, rain.”
In Macon, there was misting rain but no reports of ice Sunday morning.
“So far, so good,” Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee said.
Forsyth County officials reported few issues mid-Sunday morning.
“We’re in a really good place at the current moment,” Russell Brown, a county spokesperson, said. “Our roads and bridges crew did a fantastic job leading up to last night of putting out a lot of brine.”
Cumming Mayor Troy Brumbalow said his city was also doing well.
“I have no power outages yet. People are staying off the roads. We’ve had two cars get stuck — that’s it. And we have one person in our warming center,” Brumbalow said.
Still, the mayor urged people to stay home.
“We are afraid it’s going to get worse later today,” he said.
Joni Alpert decided she wasn’t going anywhere after she woke up Sunday morning. The roads in her Lake Lanier-area community, Harbour Point, were coated in ice and wintry mix.
“I think it would be foolish to try,” said Alpert, who spent 17 years as a producer and on-air personality for “The Clark Howard Show.” “It looks like black ice, so you wouldn’t even see the patches. It’s dangerous.”
AJC staff writers Sara Gregory, Joe Kovac Jr., Fletcher Page, Savannah Sicurella, Alexis Stevens, Kristi Swartz, J. Scott Trubey and Amy Wenk contributed to this report.
About the Authors
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
