Snow began falling in Atlanta and across Middle and South Georgia on Tuesday afternoon and quickly started accumulating in some areas. The National Weather Service expanded its winter storm warning to encompass Atlanta and some counties north of the city.
Light snow is likely to turn into ice as it melts and refreezes in the frigid temperatures overnight, setting up the potential for road hazards into Wednesday morning. Roads have already become dangerously slick in some areas.
State officials warned the public to stay home and prepare for up to 48 hours of extreme cold that will bring snow to parts of Georgia that haven’t seen such a storm in nearly 40 years.
Here’s the latest on the extreme winter weather affecting the state.
Plow teams have begun clearing the state's busiest highways, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
GDOT crews hit the road Tuesday night in the eastern reaches of the state, clearing major routes and prioritizing I-20, I-16 and Bobby Jones Expressway around Augusta. Crews are also salting bridges on interstates and state routes.
Overnight travel is being strongly discouraged by the state agency.
"Road temperatures are falling below freezing and black ice is forming in some locations. Please remember, plow teams are primarily focusing on interstates overnight, meaning most state routes will not be plowed until Wednesday," GDOT said in a statement. "If you must drive, please use extreme caution, especially on bridges. Travel conditions are expected to be dangerous overnight into Wednesday morning as temperatures fall into the low 20’s and upper teens across the district."
GDOT said its crews are working around the clock and that all maintenance personnel are working 12-hour shifts until the weather event ends.
Before Georgia residents head out to healthcare appointments Tuesday and Wednesday, patients should double-check that the destination still plans to be open for business at that time. Many clinics and health care providers have limited their hours or are temporarily closing.
All DeKalb County Public Health centers will be closed all day Wednesday, Jan. 22, and so will Fulton County Board of Health clinics. The number to call and reschedule Fulton appointments is 770-520-7500.
Piedmont and Wellstar health systems are delaying their morning opening for some doctor’s offices Wednesday to 10 a.m. or later, and also suggested patients check their websites or call to verify that they're open.
Holding a remote control as his microphone, Atlanta Falcons receiver KhaDarel Hodge did some weather reporting Tuesday from his own deck.
Hodge told viewers he was reporting from "Atlaska, Georgia" in a video on social media. Snow fell behind him during the short clip.
“Yes, I would advise you guys to stay home or you will be swerving a little, whoa, whoa," Hodge said.
Then, Hodge tossed it back to the, um, news anchor.
"Back to you, Bob," he said.
A ground stop due to snow and ice was extended until 9 p.m. at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
No more snowfall is expected in metro Atlanta, according to Channel 2 Action News Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz. But everything on the ground is freezing, and it won't budge until at least midday tomorrow.
"This ice is not just a treacherous problem now, but it’s going to remain a problem until either the roads can be treated and plowed, or temperatures get above freezing for a while,” Nitz said.
Temperatures in Atlanta were in the low 20s Tuesday night. Wednesday's high will reach the upper 30s, Nitz said.
Nitz said the winter storm brought 1-2 inches of snowfall across the southern metro counties, with little to no snow north and west of Atlanta.
“The ice that’s out there now, the snow that’s out there now, will stay totally frozen through the morning as we dip down to the teens,” he said.
Police shut down the 13th Street bridge in Columbus due to snow and ice. The bridge connects the Georgia city with its neighbor, Phenix City, Alabama, across the Chattahoochee River.
Departures at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are grounded due to snow and ice, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The ground stop will be in effect until at least 7:30 p.m.
But unlike in Jacksonville, Florida, the Atlanta airport is still open.
Jacksonville International Airport announced it will close at approximately 8 p.m. The airport is anticipated to reopen at noon Wednesday.
Safety was a growing concern late Tuesday in Savannah, where forecasts worsened throughout the day.
The National Weather Service projected the metro area and inland areas to the west would see significant precipitation overnight, including up to 4 inches of snowfall. Local governments opened warming centers and prepped dump trucks and excavators to help treat and clear roads.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, no stranger to weather emergencies, sent a frank message to residents in a Tuesday morning news conference.
“There is weather that Savannah does well, but it’s hurricanes and tropical storms. We don’t do ice and snow well,” Johnson said. “It’s a different mindset.”
The snow forecast would challenge Savannah’s previous record for accumulated snowfall of 4 inches, set in 1989. Savannah last saw snow in 2018.
A much longer snow drought was forecast to end in another Georgia coastal city. Brunswick was bracing for up to 1 inch and last experienced snow in a 1989 storm.
Tuesday afternoon's brief snowstorm has given way to freezing, icy conditions that are causing traffic issues across metro Atlanta. Areas to the south and east of the city saw the most snow, which quickly froze to the ground and roads.
Uncharacteristically, snowfall blanketed Georgia from south to north as moist air from the Gulf of Mexico swept into the cold, dry air parked over the state.
State officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp, warned residents to hunker down for about 48 hours of extreme cold. The sub-freezing temperatures claimed one life in the state, Kemp said at a news conference Tuesday morning. The governor issued a state of emergency order and said officials were hoping to avoid a situation like the "Snowpocalypse" of 2014.
While communities northwest of Atlanta like Marietta and Kennesaw were largely spared, snow appeared in unfamiliar territory like Biloxi, Mississippi, and Pensacola, Florida.
Here are links to more in-depth coverage:
» Snow begins to fall in metro Atlanta, across Georgia as winter storm arrives
» It’s freezing! Kemp issues state of emergency ahead of winter storm
» Hartsfield-Jackson security struggles to handle college football exodus
» Georgia schools and colleges closing Tuesday ahead of expected rough weather