Snow is covering metro Atlanta on Friday morning as a winter storm bears down across North Georgia.
The combination of snow and rain with freezing temperatures could cause trouble on the roads. Forecasts call for Atlanta to get less than an inch of snow surrounding areas up to 2 inches, while North Georgia could get up to 3 inches.
Across the metro area, up to a quarter-inch of ice is projected, according to the National Weather Service. Government officials are urging the public to stay home Friday until Sunday.
A winter storm warning is in effect from 5 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday. It covers all of North Georgia from the Tennessee and North Carolina lines, south through metro Atlanta into Griffin and as far southwest as Heard County and southeast as Lincoln County.
Read on for live updates from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Two trouble spots on the roads are at Spaghetti Junction in DeKalb and the Cobb Cloverleaf.
A crash has shut down the I-75 southbound ramp at I-285, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported just after 9 a.m. An elevated ramp at I-85 and I-285 was also blocked and impassable.
In North Buckhead at the Buckhead Village, at least 1 inch of snow had accumulated by 8 a.m.
The snow was beating hard, sometimes getting in your eyes and blinding you for a few seconds, but at the F45 training gym on Pharr Road, early risers were not put off by the snow.
At least five people were taking part of a group workout class, the R&B music blasting as staff salted the entrance of the gym.
Still, some drivers tried to brave the snow.
Unfortunately, one sedan driver could not make it past a hill on Pharr Road where it meets with Peachtree Road before their front tires began to free-spin, forcing them to turn around.
Pharr Road remains closed between North Fulton Drive and Peachtree Road, where a 6-inch water main broke Thursday night and flooded the street.
The Department of Watershed said around 7 a.m. that they were at a standstill on emergency repairs as they waited to locate the underground utilities in the area.
"Unfortunately, the area has yet to be marked. It is crucial that the area is accurately marked for buried utilities before we can proceed with the necessary repair work," the agency said.
An earlier crash on I-75 at Mt. Zion Boulevard in Morrow has cleared, but other traffic problems are popping up around the metro area.
"Slick spots may develop on the roads quickly this morning," the National Weather Service warns.
In DeKalb County, a wreck was blocking all but one lane on U.S. 78 eastbound at Stone Mountain Park, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Cars were also stranded on South Indian Creek between Redan Road and Covington Highway.
There are multiple crashes on surface streets in Cobb County, including the latest on Johnson Ferry Road at Columns Drive.
Ice has shut down the I-75 southbound ramp to I-285 in Cobb.
Elsewhere, the city of Chamblee announced that Chamblee Dunwoody Road between East Nancy Creek Drive and Gramercy Circle is closed until further notice.
More than 2 inches of snow has fallen across most parts of metro Atlanta.
It's the most widespread snow the metro area has seen since January 2018.
In Peachtree City, for example, 3.5 inches of snow has accumulated, according to Channel 2 Action News. That is closer to what was initially predicted earlier this week before an adjusted forecast called for less than an inch in Atlanta and no more than 2 inches in surrounding areas.
At 8:45 a.m., there was an unverified observation of 3 inches of snow near Six Flags White Water in Cobb County.
Other snow totals so far, in inches include:
Downtown Atlanta: 2.3
Midtown: 2
West End: 3.1
Decatur: 2
Marietta: 2.1
Chamblee: 1.8
Coweta County: 2.5
The snowfall has been so heavy that it is falling faster than the salt and brine can melt it, Channel 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz said.
Many highway drivers have opted to wait out the storm, but freezing rain is coming behind the snow. That will compact the snow and create even more hazardous conditions with up to a third of an inch of ice.
The snow is expected to transition over to rain between 10 a.m. and noon when a pocket of warm air will creep further north and block snowflakes from reaching the ground.
Airlines have canceled many of their flights and are deicing aircraft for departures that are still scheduled.
A ground stop is in effect at Hartsfield-Jackson for Delta flights from certain regions until 10 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration's website on the status of the national airspace system.
Delta has canceled hundreds of its flights Friday in Atlanta, as it thins its flight schedule due to the storm and the need to deice planes before takeoff.
Interstates and secondary roads in the metro area are becoming more treacherous as the snow increases. A crash on I-75 North at Mt. Zion Boulevard has closed all but one lane, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Also, several tractor-trailers have pulled onto the shoulder of the Downtown Connector to wait out the snowfall. There are reports of cars beginning to get stuck, including in Cobb County along the East-West Connector near Highlands Ridge Road.
As of about 8:30 a.m., only a few outages have been reported by the state’s largest utility, Georgia Power.
About 800 customers across Georgia Power’s network were without power, according to the company’s online portal.
Georgia EMC, which represents the state’s dozens of electrical cooperatives, reported more than 1,500 customers without power, the vast majority in central Georgia.
The storm in Northern Georgia has brought mostly heavy snow so far, but freezing rain and ice are expected as the day wears on, and that increases the likelihood of outages.
Heavy snowfall began around 7:45 a.m. in Watkinsville, an Oconee County town that is home to about 4,000 residents and near Athens.
Neighborhood roads and rooftops quickly turned white as snowfall intensified.
The Georgia Emergency Management Hazards Dashboard shows reports of icy and snowy conditions on major highways across Georgia.
As of 7:45 a.m., there were reports of hazardous conditions on I-85 heading towards Newnan, I-20 heading towards Lake Oconee and heading towards Alabama and I-75 in Dalton County.
The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement for the I-85 corridor. A wintry mix is expected to limit visibility to less than half a mile at times and roads are expected to be covered with ice making travel difficult around Atlanta, Newnan, Villa Rica, East Point, Austell and Tallapoosa.
By around 7 a.m., the Beltline in the Old Fourth Ward had turned white as snow began falling more heavily.
Only a few joggers and pedestrians were out near the Krog Street section of the trail.