It’s fucking frozen. This happens maybe once a decade in the south, if that often. The roads are impassable. Driving in these conditions is putting yourself and others in danger.
Once again the schools here used their snow emergency plan which consists of:
- Ignore that we have no snow removal equipment, open the schools anyway.
- Around 10AM, realize we have no snow removal equipment, so close the schools.
- Declare driving is too dangerous so cancel all bus service.
- Insist all parents now drive to pick up their kids.
- Repeat next winter.
They do this shit every year. They give no warning and the mile drive to the school takes like 45 minutes because every parent in town is scrambling to pick up their kid.
In the north I would drive to work with 6+ inches of snow on the ground. This shit is ice. Add that to the fact that no one outside of NASCAR knows how to drive around here and it gets pretty messy.
I saw this article the other day on MSNBC. The article said they mix salt, brine, and sand and spray it on the roads, but doesn’t brine freeze?
That’s a dusting.
I was in California for work years ago and it snowed. They were so impressed they called me outside (being from Minnesota, my expertise in the ability to recognize snow was immediately granted with no other scrutiny of my credentials). My response was that yes, indeed, it was snow, and it was sticking, but in Minnesota it didn’t really count until you could no longer see the tips of the grass peeking through the snow.
They came close, but there wasn’t enough accumulation to cover the blades of grass - and four hours later there was just wet grass.
My facebook page today had a picture of the 1991 Halloween snowstorm on it - that was a lot of snow.
I am someway, somehow surviving the big snow of 2014. Yep. That was the scene at my house this morning.
Don’t worry. I’m sure I can tunnel my way out in a couple of days. 
Meanwhile, my place of work has announced the closure for tomorrow. Ok then. I’ll suffer through.
Truly frightening. You should think about investing in a snowblower - or maybe even a truck with a plow on the front
(I bet very few trucks in Georgia have plows on the front.)
An inch of snow is easily driven through. Ice can be just as wicked for us up north, but if you slow way down it isn’t that big a deal (steep grades and curves are a bitch, I’ll admit). If you’re not comfortable doing so, then the proper thing is not to drive.
I’m in ATL (Dunwoody/Sandy Springs). Office closed today, and tomorrow.
In this area the traffic is horrible on a good day. With sending everyone home early yesterday, and the inevitable collisions and spin-outs and jack-knifed trucks, the roads were at a dead stop. People reported taking 7 hours to go 10 miles. Some folks were stuck overnight, and haven’t gotten home yet. Many abandoned their cars and somehow moved on. So, there are still a lot of vehicles pulled over. People were camping in stores, kids stayed overnight in schools.
If you’ve seen the news - the Mayor and Governor are pissing on each other about the mess. Fun stuff.
2.5" here just east of Atlanta, and I’m working from home today. The real problem yesterday was that every school, government office and business in the mtero area decided to close and bail at the same time. That 2-3 million people on the roads instantly. Normally, the afternoon rush in the Atlanta metro begins around 3:30 and lasts until after 7:30. Now put all those people on the road at once, add a few thousand ice and traffic inspired accidents (730 within the city limits of Atlanta alone) and you get the world’s largest parking lot. Metro Atlanta has many more salt trucks and deicing materials than the last time this happened, but they couldn’t get through the traffic to fix the roads.
Officials are conceding today that perhaps leaders of governments, schools, and businesses should have talked among themselves and come up with a staggered release plan. Would have saved a lot of grief.
Alpharetta/Cumming area: I begrudged taking 2 hours to get home yesterday (and half that was for the first six blocks); one cow-orker took 13 hours; another, 21 hours. Some gave up and never left the immediate vicinity, staying the night at work.
When I went out for lunch yesterday at 11:30 and it was already coming down, I knew that we should immediately be closing and heading home. Unfortunately, like so many Atlanta area businesses/organizations, they waited until about 2pm, when it was already too late.
I went out early this morning on foot to take some photos. I had no difficulty going down my steep driveway, covered with a bit of snow, but as soon as I set one foot on the road I slipped and fell on my ass. An inch of solid ice.
I’m one of “the Driving Dead” from the zombie-apocalypse weather nightmare in Atlanta last night. I spent almost exactly 12 hours in ice-hell last night.
Here’s my story. I live in the burbs, and work in Midtown Atlanta. I ride a commuter bus to work, so that’s how I got downtown yesterday.
I left work at 6. Walked to the transit station to catch my bus. No shit, as I’m walking 10 minutes to the bus stop, twitter tells me that GRTA (Georgia Rapid Transit Authority) has suspended all operations.
Well, fuck. I’m in downtown Atlanta, home is 25 miles Northeast. I have a dog at home, no one else there. No neighbors with an extra key. I know, stupid on my behalf. So, what to do. Hey, what about ZIPCAR? Check my app, yes there is a car in a parking garage less than a block from where I am. Honda Insight Hybrid. I get it, and strike out. It’s FWD, and I’m from VA originally, I know how to drive in winter weather.
Well, in the interest of keeping this short, I’ll bullet point the highlights:
[ul]
[li]Left work last night at 6 PM, got home this AM at 5:40. Almost 12 hours in a car.[/li][li]Had to “ahem” utilize a plastic McDonalds cup multiple times. Yes, I’m a dude.[/li][li]Had no food or water in the car, had to get off at an exit to refill gas, and get some bottled water and snacks.[/li][li]3 times, my preferred route was closed, and I had to divert.[/li][li]I wound up on the Perimeter, which I KNEW would be bad idea.[/li][li]Saw a woman squatting to answer natures call beside her car in the middle of the Interstate.[/li][li]Saw truck drivers who could not get their rigs up an incline on the Interstate building a fire in a barrel in the middle of the Interstate[/li][li]Saw entire families abandoning their cars and walking, zombie-like, down the Interstate[/li][li]Many times we were weaving through abandoned cars and semi trucks, it was like a running back weaving through a defense.[/li][/ul]
It truly was like an end of the world movie. Completely surreal. In the end I made it home.
Lessons learned:
[ul]
[li]That was stupid. I should not have taken that risk.[/li][li]I should have had a back-up plan for my dog if I could not make it home. Give me a break on this one, I’m separated from my wife for just 8 months now, she had always been the back up plan before.[/li][li]Can’t count on the bus service. Left me stranded.[/li][li]I need at least a front wheel drive car. Both of my cars are rear wheel drive, and both are fairly light vehicles. They would both suck in the snow.[/li][/ul]
On the good side, my rented Zipcar, a 2012 Honda Insight Hybrid, was actually really badass in the weather last night. All-season tires and FWD, kept the transmission in 2 all the way. I won’t say it never slipped or spun wheels. It did. They were quite a few really sketchy moments. But, in the end, it soldiered on. Unlike many people, I made it. Did not abandon my car, adding to the nightmare facing the clean-up today.
Kinda felling a little badass today. But, yeah, I know it was stupid to try. In hindsight, bad decision on my behalf.
Yeah, I heard that. but you know what would happen. They are talking about a staggered approach, assuming that businesses are going to hold employees for a bit after the schools close, so that the buses get “priority” so to speak.
But we all know what would happen. Media will report that schools are closing, all over Atlanta, employees will simultaneously scream “My Babies!!!” and flee their office to make sure precious little Betty gets to ride home in the SUV, not a plebeian school bus.
I offer to drive anyone’s car home for the price of a return air fare and $1,000 per hour.
Curses! I didn’t bother to renew my passport. I couldda been rich!
There’s a bunch of uninformed hyperbole in this thread. You do know there were still kids at school early this afternoon, right? How long do you think a school bus takes to drive even an abbreviated route in total gridlock conditions?
And Bob, the two biggest pussies I saw I the road last night had Michigan and Massachusetts plates. The snow was never a problem. Traffic was the issue first, then 2 solid inches of black ice in a very hilly city turned everything into a nightmare.
Maybe the fact that almost all roads were blocked by stopped, crashed or abandoned vehicles and all the authorities were telling everyone to stay off the roads would also be a good reason not to try to drive.
I want to get a plow installed on the front of my truck. Sounds like fun!
I will be working from home tomorrow. The place where I have office space will be closed tomorrow due to the fact that temps have not gone above freezing and there’s still the worry of black ice.
First I’m buried under a ton of snow, now I’m forced to work from home tomorrow. My life is hell!
A few years ago we were visiting my sisters, who live in a small town in North Dakota, over Christmas. They had nearly two feet of snow in 24 hours and we sort of got stuck in town for a few extra days. It was darn tough to have to extend Christmas with our family 
In small towns in North Dakota - or at least in this small town - there is not a lot of snowplow and salt equipment…when the snow falls, the locals get in their trucks, and start plowing the streets…the main street gets done by the more regional government, but the side streets - they are done by guys in pickups.
However, this week my sister got stuck driving home from Fargo - about an hour away. She thought she could make it home, but ended up staying with someone she sort of knew when the interstate closed down. Happens a few times during the Winter - where people who work for Microsoft in Fargo just sleep in their offices rather than driving to Jamestown or Tower (or get a hotel room).
And while we are at it, I’ll add this:
[ul]
[li]Mandate chains for semi-trucks. Apparently, from what one of the local news channels said today, GA actually has this on the books. They can, under these conditions, mandate that semis use chains on their drive wheels, or require them to get off the road. They never “deployed” that rule yesterday. I know, in my instance, 75% of the clusterfucks I picked my way through were caused by trucks that could not maintain enough traction on the ice to make it up moderate interstate inclines. I’m assuming up north trucks routinely use chains under these conditions.[/li][li]Rear wheel drive high performance sedans with borderline at best tires. Where the hell do you think you are going in your 7-series BMW with summer tires? I saw what seemed liked hundreds of cars that should not have been out there. BMWs, big Infinitys, etc. All with wide summer tread looking tires.[/li][/ul]