Metro Atlanta to wake up to frozen roads, frigid temps

AIRPORT: Snow causes flight delays, cancellations at Hartsfield-Jackson

TIPS: Winter weather in Atlanta: How to prepare your family, home and car for hazardous weather

ADVISORIES, WATCHES AND WARNINGS: What do the designations mean?

Whatever you do, metro Atlanta, stay off the roads and bundle up for another cold day.

By 6 a.m. Thursday, Atlanta could be in the teens and the wind chill could be as low as -1.

The wind chill advisory for metro Atlanta and other parts of North Georgia was extended until 10 a.m. Thursday. The city should reach 47 degrees during the day.

Some roads are still iced over and there’s a strong chance are too hazardous for travel. That means possible “black ice” again tonight.

The widespread snow subsided early Wednesday, but the number of crashes did not. In Gwinnett County, there were 567 traffic calls since midnight. DeKalb County had nearly 260 crashes between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Wednesday. And Cobb County reported about 200 crashes in the 24 hours since the snowfall began, including 10 hit-and-run incidents.

Gov. Nathan Deal had declared a state of emergency for 83 counties, including the metro area. More than 12,000 miles of Georgia’s roads were affected by the winter weather.

Many schools and local governments have already announced closings for Thursday.

School districts closing in the metro area include: Atlanta, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Decatur, DeKalb, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Marietta and Paulding.

Others include: Bartow, Bibb, Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Fannin, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Monroe, Newton, Polk, Rockdale, Thomaston-Upson, Towns, Troup and Union counties, in addition to Bremen, Calhoun, Carrollton and Rome city systems. Dalton City Schools will open two hours late.

Here’s how the day has unfolded:

10:36 p.m.: Atlanta reached a high of 25 degrees before dropping to 20 by 10:30 p.m., according to Channel 2 Action News. The wind chill makes it feel like 6. The city could see temperautes in the teens Thursday morning.

9:46 p.m.: The University of Georgia will open at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Classes are scheduled to start at 11 a.m.

9:08 p.m.: Atlanta's three warming centers will remain open overnight for anyone seeking shelter from below freezing temperatures. More than 360 people are being serviced at the Central Park, Grant Park and Old Adamsville warming centers.

9:06 p.m.: Atlanta Public Works had 14 salt spreaders on the roadways, treated 925 lane miles, and used 724 tons of salt by 7 p.m. Wednesday, spokeswoman Jenna Garland said. The Department of Watershed Management officials responded to three water main breaks. Garland said crews will work around the clock until roads are clear.   

8:41 p.m.: More than 700 flights have been canceled Wednesday at the Atlanta airport by Delta, Southwest and other airlines, according to data on FlightAware.com. The Atlanta airport typically handles close to 2,500 flights a day.

8:40 p.m.: Stonecrest City Hall will have a delayed opening of 11 a.m. Thursday, spokesman Adrion Bell said. "The mayor cited safety concerns for his staff and Stonecrest residents as the reason for the delay," he said.

6:54 p.m.: The Atlanta Hawks game against the New Orleans Pelicans will start at 7:30 p.m. as scheduled, Channel 2 Action News reported. 

6:15 p.m.: Georgia Tech will delay opening until noon.

6:12 p.m.: Any melting ice has the potential to refreeze overnight, GDOT said.

6:06 p.m.: The DeKalb County 911 center reports it took 257 calls about auto accidents, including nine hit-and-runs, between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Wednesday.  There were 270 other traffic-related calls, including abandoned vehicles, hazards, stalled vehicles and so on.

5:45 p.m.: The University of West Georgia will remain closed through 5 p.m. Thursday "as weather conditions continue to make travel difficult," officials said.

5:41 p.m.: Hall County Schools will close Thursday. It will be a "school from home" day.

5:39 p.m.: Georgia Power reports 31 outages affecting 218 customers due to the frigid weather. Georgia EMC has not reported any outages.

5:32 p.m.: Downed power lines left Buford Highway in Doraville shut down. Roads have since opened.

5:07 p.m.: Clayton State University, Cherokee County Schools and Rome City Schools will be closed Thursday.

4:54 p.m.: Douglas County Schools will be closed Thursday, according to the school system's Facebook page.

4:46 p.m.: DeKalb County offices, facilities and courts will remain closed Thursday. "DeKalb officials are urging residents to exercise caution on the roads as icy conditions are expected to continue overnight and Thursday morning," spokesman Andrew Cauthen said in a news release.

4:45 p.m.: Habersham County Schools are closed Thursday.

4:44 p.m.: Fulton County government offices will remain closed Thursday.

4:32 p.m.: Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and Town Center at Cobb and will close at 6 p.m. today due to inclement weather, Simon Propery Group spokeswoman Haley Sheram said. The Mall of Georgia and Sugarloaf Mills will close at 5 p.m. today.

4:30 p.m.: MARTA will end bus service at 10 p.m. Wednesday, and will modify its Thursday service to deal with winter weather.

4:22 p.m.: Gwinnett County and Newton County schools will be closed Thursday. 

4:13 p.m.: DeKalb County crews are working 16-hour shifts to treat main roads and neighborhood streets, Channel 2 Action News reported.

4:09 p.m.: At least 3 inches of snow was reported in parts of metro Atlanta. The city proper received 2.3. inches. 

4:07 p.m.: The Cobb County government will resume operations at 10 a.m. Thursday, spokesman Ross Cavitt said. "The delayed opening should give Department of Transportation crews time to treat icy roads that develop overnight and avoid having any county employees drive to work before sunrise," Cavitt said.

3:55 p.m.: Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University and Georgia Gwinnett College are closed Thursday due to inclement weather.

3:34 p.m.: Security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are more than an hour long in wake of the winter weather. Travelers flying Wednesday should allow extra time to get through security, arriving at the airport three hours before their departure time.

3:12 p.m.: DeKalb County, Fulton County, Paulding County and Polk County schools are closed Thursday.

3:04 p.m.: Cobb County and Fayette County schools will be closed Thursday. Both districts announced the closures on their Twitter accounts. Marietta schools is also closed. 

2:51 p.m.: Troup County Schools and Monroe County Schools will be closed Thursday.

2:48 p.m.: Woodward Academy will be closed Thursday.

2:32 p.m.: Coweta County and Newnan have instituted a curfew from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday. Public safety, media and industries personnel are exempt. Newnan's City Hall offices will reopen at noon Thursday.

2:11 p.m.: The Georgia Senate will convene at 1:30 p.m. Thursday instead of the previously scheduled 10 a.m.

2:04 p.m.: City of Lilburn offices will reopen at noon Thursday, city spokeswoman Nikki Perry said.

2 p.m.: Atlanta government offices and the Municipal Court of Atlanta will remain closed Thursday. All essential and emergency personnel should report at their regularly scheduled time. All non-essential employees should remain at home.

1:58 p.m.: Zoo Atlanta will be closed Thursday.

1:57 p.m.: Due to icy conditions on the runways and taxiway, DeKalb-Peachtree Airport is closed until 4 p.m.

1:51 p.m.: The Gwinnett County Police Department is working 54 traffic calls right now. Fourteen intersections throughout the county are closed. "Conditions have not improved much," the department said in a tweet.

1:50 p.m.: Henry County Schools will be closed Thursday, the district announced.

1:39 p.m.: Emory University and Oxford College will be closed Thursday, Emory spokeswoman Elaine Justice said.

1:18 p.m.: Carrollton City Schools and Carroll County Schools will be closed Thursday.

1:15 p.m.: A wind chill advisory for metro Atlanta and other parts of North Georgia has been extended until 10 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

The advisory, which was originally set to expire at 1 p.m., means single-digit wind chills are expected to continue. Frostbite can occur in as little as 30 minutes.

1:14 p.m.: Snowfall totals reached 2.3 inches in Atlanta, 3.3 inches in Newnan and 1.6 inches in Kirkwood, Channel 2 reported.

1:05 p.m.: Tonight's production of "The Lion King" is canceled, according to a tweet from The Fox Theatre.

12:58 p.m.: Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services personnel have responded to more than 100 emergency incidents since midnight, Capt. Tommy Rutledge said in a statement. The call volume has been steady, but mostly routine.

12:42 p.m.: Currently, the temperature is 12 degrees lower in Atlanta than it is in Anchorage — as in Alaska. The temp is 18 degrees in Atlanta and 30 in Anchorage, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

The forecast high is 25 degrees in Atlanta and 40 in Anchorage.

12:31 p.m.: Atlanta Public Schools will be closed Thursday, Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said in a tweet.

12:20 p.m.: Road temperatures are at or below freezing throughout metro Atlanta, but conditions are improving in the sun pretty quickly, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said. Improvements will continue in the hours ahead, he said.

12:15 p.m.: There have been 684 delays and 276 cancellations at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to Channel 2 Action News.

12:10 p.m.: Coweta County schools will be closed Thursday due to the winter weather and hazardous road conditions.

12:05 p.m.: Two people have died in a crash on icy I-75 North just past Hartley Bridge Road in south Macon, according to the Macon Telegraph. The accident happened about 9:15 a.m.

11:54 a.m.: Factoring in the 2.3 inches of snow recorded at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport today, Atlanta has gotten 4.7 inches of snow so far this season, according to Channel 2 Action News. "That's now ahead of the amount of snow we saw in the winter of 2013-2014," when Atlanta received 4.6 inches of snow, Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

11:47 a.m.: The Georgia Department of Transportation is responsible for 18,000 miles of roadways statewide. Of that number, 12,849 miles have been affected by the winter weather. That amounts to nearly 75 percent of state-maintained roadways.

11:45 a.m.: Gwinnett police is working 69 accidents, officials said. There are still 17 road closures throughout the county. "Stay off the roads," police said.

11:22 a.m.: Additional MARTA routes have suspended service in the last 15 minutes "due to unsafe road conditions." Routes 19, 32, 55, 74, 86, 111, 115, 116 and 186 have been impacted.

11:16 a.m.: An Atlanta police officer was taken to the hospital for evaluation after being struck by a car that slid on icy roads near Lenox Square, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

11:09 a.m.: Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport picked up 2.3 inches of snow, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.

11:03 a.m.: An Atlanta police officer slid on ice and ran into a Georgia State Patrol trooper's vehicle, police told Channel 2 Action News. At the time of the crash, the officer was driving to help the GSP trooper work a crash about 9:30 a.m. on Washington Street. No injuries were reported.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

11 a.m.: Due to icy conditions, Clifton Road is blocked in both directions between CDC Parkway and Briarcliff Road, according to Emory police. "Please use an alternate route," police said.10:55 a.m.: A layer of ice is under the snow in many areas, causing extremely hazardous driving conditions and crashes throughout North Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
10:47 a.m.: Three warming centers are open at the Central Park, Grant Park and Old Adamsville recreation centers in Atlanta, according to the city.

Gwinnett County also has a warming center open at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church. It will stay open through Thursday morning, according to the county.

10:27 a.m.: I-20 has reopened after a disabled tractor-trailer closed all westbound lanes at mile marker 87 in Newton County.

All westbound lanes of the interstate also reopened at Almon Road after severe icing forced officials to close it for hours, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported.

9:59 a.m.: State government is closed today for non-essential personnel in the 83 counties included in Gov. Nathan Deal's state of emergency.

9:53 a.m.: MARTA buses are still serving hospital and other emergency areas. There are now 20 routes planned to operate based on weather conditions.

MARTA’s public hearing on proposed bus routes is canceled and will be rescheduled.

9:43 a.m.: Gwinnett County police officers have worked 174 accidents since midnight, officials said. That includes crashes involving salt trucks, patrol cars and tow trucks. "Stay home at all costs," the police department said in a tweet.

9:34 a.m.: One lane is open on I-85 South after being shut down more than four hours at exit No. 129 in Jackson County.

9:32 a.m.: There has been a 9-car car crash on Lenox Road at Ga. 400 in Buckhead, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

9:30 a.m.: I-75 South Metro Express Lanes are closed until further notice, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

9:14 a.m.:  More than a dozen accidents were reported on the drive from north Atlanta to Dublin, deputy state insurance commissioner Jay Florence said.

One accident on I-16 involved six cars in Macon.

9:08 a.m.: With freezing temperatures and wind chills in the single digits in metro Atlanta, frostbite can happen within 30 minutes to exposed skin, according to Channel 2 Action News.

9:03 a.m.: All city of Conyers offices are closed for the day, police Sgt. Kim Lucas said.

8:51 a.m. The University of Georgia will be closed today, according to the school.

8:43 a.m.: There have been 15 accidents in Marietta since 6 a.m., the police department said.

8:42 a.m.: There are about 50 accidents and 23 road closures mostly due to icy conditions in Gwinnett County, police Sgt. Jake Smith said. "It's really not safe for anyone to be on the road," he said.

8:35 a.m.: MARTA removed routes 865, 165 and 81 from service due to unsafe streets along the routes, according to the agency.

8:21 a.m.: CobbLinc will not resume normal operations at 10 a.m. as originally planned.

Officials will monitor weather conditions to determine when they can safely resume operations, transit manager Andrea Foard said.

8:20 a.m.: All Mercer campuses and centers, excluding Savannah, will be closed today and classes are canceled, according to the school system. The Fresh Food Company in the Connell Student Center on the Macon campus will be operating normal hours.

8:18 a.m.: MARTA is now running on a modified weekend schedule, according to the agency.

8:16 a.m.: Zoo Atlanta will be closed today, according to the business.

8:06 a.m.: There are now more than 250 flight delays and more than 190 cancellations at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to the airport.

8 a.m.: "There isn't anywhere that is safe to drive at the moment," Gwinnett police Sgt. Jake Smith said.

8 a.m.: DeKalb County government offices, libraries, facilities and courts will be closed today.

The DeKalb County Sanitation Division has also suspended all administrative and field operations today.

The Henry County Courthouse will be closed today, too.

7:52 a.m.: Stonecrest City Hall will be closed today, according to the city spokesman.

7:41 a.m.: Georgia Piedmont Technical College will be closed today due to weather conditions, according to the college.

7:36 a.m.: Treating side roads may take city and county agencies more time as they focus resources on larger roads, Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Natalie Dale told Channel 2 Action News.

“So if you can’t safely get out of your neighborhood, it’s best just to stay put,” she said.

7:33 a.m.: I-85 in Braselton continues to be one of the Georgia Department of Transportation's trouble spots due to multiple accidents. "The roads are not good," agency spokeswoman Natalie Dale told Channel 2 Action News. "They are not good to travel on. Not only are we dealing with ice issues, we are dealing with some very dry, powdery snow. Think of the difference between trying to plow dry dust, which is what we're kind of doing, or trying to plow some wet, heavy sand, which is like the last winter storm we had in December. Much easier to plow that. This snow kicks up in the air, causing visibility problems in addition to icy patches under that snow. If you do not have to be on the road, this is not the time to gamble and get out on them."

7:27 a.m.: All Atlanta University Center institutions, including Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College, are closed, according to the schools.

7:13 a.m.: I-20 West is shut down due to severe icing at Almon Road (exit No. 88).

6:53 a.m.: Weather conditions have led to ongoing MARTA delays to bus and rail services, according to the agency.

6:52 a.m.: "Stay off the roads," Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Natalie Dale told News 95.5 & AM 750 WSB. "We have our crews out, but there are some complexities to what we are dealing with." Asked when to expect an all-clear today, she said, "I don't expect to get an all-clear today."

6:45 a.m.: Cities of Conyers and Lilburn announced delayed openings set at noon today. Municipal Court has been canceled in Conyers.

6:34 a.m.: Icy conditions have about a dozen vehicles stuck on I-20 near Panola Road, Channel 2 reported.

6:31 a.m.: Cobb County closed government operations Wednesday because of the hazardous travel conditions on county roads, county spokesman Ross Cavitt said.

The CobbLinc bus service will delay its start today until 10 a.m.

6:29 a.m.: Officials announced closings at Emory University, Oxford College and Georgia State University today.

6:25 a.m.: There is a ground delay at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. There have also been nearly 100 cancellations and 115 delays at Hartsfield-Jackson.

6:23 a.m.: A crash has occurred involving a MARTA bus on I-285 South at Glenwood Road in DeKalb County. No other details have been released.

6:03 a.m.: There have been more than 30 crashes with ice reported throughout metro Atlanta, WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reporter Mark Arum said Wednesday.

5:53 a.m.: I-85 South is shutdown at Winder Highway in Jackson County.

5:52. a.m: There have been six crashes on I-85 between Gwinnett and Jackson counties this morning, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

5:47 a.m.: Ice has westbound lanes of U.S. 78 shut down at Lake Lucerne. "Please stay off the roads," the Traffic Center said.

5:25 a.m.: Several spots in Midtown picked up 1 inch of snow, Channel 2 reported. Snowfall amounts of 1.5 inches were reported in Marietta, Smyrna and Austell, and Douglasville picked up 1.75 inches in some areas.

5:15 a.m.: By noon Wednesday, the wind chill could make it feel like -5 degrees in Atlanta, Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton reported.

“Please bundle up and limit your time outdoors,” she said. “Keep pets inside today.”

5:13 a.m.: A wind chill advisory issued just after 3 a.m. is set to last through 1 p.m. for metro Atlanta and other parts of North Georgia, Channel 2 reported.

The wind is forecast to move at between 20 and 30 mph.

“It will make the temps feel like 10 above to 5 below zero,” Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said.

5:02 a.m.: Snowfall is ending in the northwest Georgia mountains, but it will continue for the next four to five hours in other parts of the state, Channel 2 reported. An additional inch of snow is possible in many areas of Atlanta and southward with a few higher pockets.

5 a.m.: Pavement temperatures are in the mid- to low 20s, so "there will be a layer of ice under the snow on untreated roads," Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

4:40 a.m.: "Snow will taper off later this morning, but temps stay cold which will cause icy road conditions," Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said. "Stay off the roads this morning."