Many metro schools to close today amid icy road forecast

Many metro Atlanta school districts announced they will be closed today because of possible icy roads.

Cobb, Atlanta, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Cherokee, Forysth, Fayette, Coweta, Fulton, Paulding, Decatur, Marietta and Douglas schools will be closed today, the districts announced in a flurry Sunday evening.

Gwinnett County Public Schools told students they should log in online to access assignments and that the day would be a “digital learning day.”

Forsyth schools announced an “online learning day” instead of a traditional day. Students are to check the district’s website for instructions.

Kennesaw State University also announced it will be closed today.

A wintry mix of freezing rain or other ice could hit early, but the weather is expected to rise to about 41 degrees in the afternoon, according to Channel 2 Action News weather.

Fulton County Schools and Atlanta Public Schools also have acknowledged the heavy traffic expected this afternoon because of the college football championship game to be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and a visit from President Donald Trump. Fulton schools already warned parents that school buses may be delayed in bringing students home today.

The Georgia Department of Transportation will be working overnight to prepare metro Atlanta roads.

GDOT crews began treating the region’s interstates with brine at 9 a.m. Sunday, according to spokeswoman Natalie Dale. They also applied salt and rock to bridges.

Dale said crews will continue to treat roads overnight and through rush hour today.

The decision to close schools in metro Atlanta varies depending on each school district’s policies.

In some cases, school districts have been criticized by some parents for not closing early enough, like the infamous Snow Jam of 2014, when some school buses were stuck on area roads for hours as they left after the precipitation started. Sometimes, schools are heckled for closing school when no bad weather comes. Sometimes, they’re taken to task for not closing at all.

The first step, officials say they take, is to monitor forecasts from the National Weather Service and local newscasts.

Atlanta’s school system coordinates with the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Gwinnett’s school system keeps in touch with the county government, police, first responders and electrical power companies.

Gwinnett officials also said its transportation team drives some of its roads to determine if it’s safe for school buses.

Most systems also usually have people on the ground checking out road conditions.