The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Little snow, big relief
Slippery roads, power outages accompany area icy conditions.
Saturday’s no-storm gave new meaning to “winter wonderland.” As in, did you wonder where winter landed?
Actually, the snow that Atlanta was expecting overnight Friday did fall. It just didn’t make it all the way to the ground as snow.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz, who took it upon himself to apologize Saturday to “those of you disappointed by the lack of snow,” explained that the snow fell into a layer of warm air about 5,000 feet above the earth, where it stopped being snow.
Plunging as water into a lower layer of freezing air, the “snow” instantly became ice, falling to earth and turning roads into rinks. The icing caused scores of traffic accidents, including one fatal crash. Thousands of people lost power, and Georgia Department of Transportation crews dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of brine on the highways.
The ice also became a beautiful glaze on this City of Trees that shimmered under Saturday’s sun. And even where snow was all but invisible, Atlanta kids still rode sleds downhill, as only Atlanta kids can.
Sunshine helped melt some of the ice, but temperatures slid down into the low 20s late Saturday, and another blast of frigid air was on the way, this one accompanied by strong winds.
The so-called “no-pocalypse” led to many a choice tweet, including this one Saturday: “Atlanta is the only place where you can get snowed in with no snow.”
Said another: “The Russians hacked my snowstorm!”
Only the northern suburbs and points north of those had measurable snow. The northeast Georgia town of Hiawassee recorded 6.6 inches of snow, compared with .15 of an inch of ice in Midtown Atlanta.
‘I guess her expectations were low’
For her fourth birthday, Kennedy Anavitarte planned to lace up roller skates for a party with 17 friends. But Saturday morning, icy roads closed the Kennesaw Sparkles rink. The party was off, forcing the Dallas girl to change her plans.
“I played in the snow,” Kennedy said during an afternoon break. “I went sledding. Yay!”
Last year, the Anavitartes celebrated Kennedy’s birthday with a trip to Stone Mountain’s “Snow Mountain” attraction. This time, it was the real thing. And there was no admission price.
Bundled up in a coat and gloves, Kennedy joined her two older sisters and neighborhood friends outside, where about an inch of slushy ice covered the ground. After a hot chocolate break, Kennedy planned to head outside again.
Not all kids were as lucky. Not that they noticed.
Daphne De Francisco, 9, could barely wait to wake up Saturday to the promised snow. She stayed up late Friday night, hoping to see the first flakes fall on Clarkston. But by 11 p.m., she did what the snow did not: she drifted off.
Daphne awoke about 8:30 and raced to the closest window to discover ... not much.
“I was bummed,” said Daphne’s mom Cassie White. “I had been building this up for days. I looked at the forecast and it was 100 percent snow. I was so sure it was going to snow.”
But Daphne’s reaction to the tiniest bit of snow, scant as it was?
“It’s amazing,” she said to her mom. “It really looks like powdered sugar.”
Daphne didn’t get far trying to slide down her driveway on a cookie sheet. She filled a small Ziploc bag with a few clumps of snow and stashed it in the fridge.
“She was totally cool with it,” said White. “I guess living in Atlanta, her expectations were low.”
Georgia State student killed in crash
In Middle Georgia, ice apparently led to a crash that killed a 20-year-old Georgia State University student Saturday, police said.
Malik Jordan, 20, who was from Albany, was driving northbound on I-75 in a Lincoln Navigator when the SUV struck a patch of ice on a bridge over Ga. 42, causing Jordan to lose control, according to the Monroe County Sheriff ’s Department.
In North Georgia, a single-vehicle wreck near the Gilmer-Murray county line killed one person late Saturday. Investigators believe ice on Ga. 282 was a factor.
By Saturday afternoon, Atlanta highways were well on their way to being clear, according to GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale.
Though crews continued to spread brine on highways, pavement sensors showed that road temperatures across the region were well above freezing, Dale said. She said crews will continue to find and treat icy spots through the weekend, but the worst appears to be over.
“It looks like we are past the first winter storm of 2017,” she said.
North of Atlanta featured the picturesque scenes of winter that bypassed the city.
A cold sun rose Saturday over 2 to 5 inches of snow blanketing the North Georgia mountains. But it wasn’t causing problems, emergency officials in Fannin County said.
“This isn’t bad,” said Robert Graham, county emergency services director. “We get something like this once a year. People are used to it.”
Sledding wreck sends 1 to hospital
Some people were determined to drive, despite the early warnings of icy roads. In Atlanta, the 17th Street off-ramp from the Downtown Connector was the scene of a multi-vehicle crash.
Numerous wrecks and stranded motorists were reported in outer counties, north and west of the city. And not all of those involved vehicles with tires.
In Cherokee County, a sledding wipe-out sent one man to the hospital by ambulance. Deputies were also called to three other sled crashes, but none of the injuries was serious, according to Sgt. Matt McMullen with the sheriff ’s office.
By Saturday afternoon, Georgia Power said it restored power to more than 50,000 customers after freezing rain and snow swept through the state. But as winds kicked up, additional customers were affected, keeping line crews busy.
Metro Atlanta had the largest number of outages, including more than 3,500 customers shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday, according to Georgia Power’s map. The hardest-hit areas were in the northern and western parts of metro Atlanta.
Saturday afternoon, Christy Sloat and her two children, Ella, 12, and Julian, 8, were holed up in an upstairs bedroom because it was the warmest spot in their Atlanta home.
“I’m trying to find any activities for the kids that don’t involve screens,” said Sloat, whose home had been without power since about 4:30 a.m.
‘There was just a huge crash’
In the predawn darkness, four houses down the street, a large, two-trunked tree fell in two directions, she said. It took out her neighbor’s fence, three cars and the power lines and pole, knocking out power to the neighborhood.
“All of a sudden there was just a huge crash,” she said.
Customers of smaller utilities were affected as well. Georgia EMC, which represents 41 electrical utility cooperatives in the state, said about 1,500 customers lost electricity but were expected to have it back by the end of the day.
The cold conditions brought more than 100 people into two emergency warming centers, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Saturday afternoon. The shelters, at Rosel Fann Recreation Center on Cleveland Avenue and at the Old Adamsville recreation center, are expected to remain open all weekend.