Atlanta Snowjam 2014

The storm seems to have taken ATL by surprise. Things tonight along Atlanta interstates and secondary roads have progressed into a widespread state of emergency due to very dangerous driving conditions coming as folks began leaving work and school around the noon hour due to the arrival of the snow. Roads have become very ugly due to the snow and low temperatures and lack of treatment due to the gridlock situation.

As of late this evening there are thousands of stories coming across the local news channels of stranded, and wrecked motorists caught unprepared for the event. Many schools have students and teachers sheltering in place since attempting to leave was thwarted by the conditions and ensuing gridlock of the traffic system. Students have been traped on buses in traffic. People are now into their 8th+ hour in their vehicles with no hope of getting home. A lot of stories coming out about folks abandoning vehicles and walking in sub 20 degree temps. Home depots and local fire departments are providing shelter for folks who can get there.

I hope for the best, but there is a good bit of failure on the part of a lot of people who just did not pay attention. Adding to this, the meteorologic warnings probably came a bit late for the metro area early this am. There may be a lot of bad news in the morning but Im hoping that most folks who cannot continue, or run out of fuel, will get help. A good source of info are the local ATL news channels. They are doing a good job of covering what is going down.

The Governor has declared an official state of emergency and called out the National Guard. I know this sounds surreal, but even on a nice day ATL traffic can be a nightmare. I started this thread to alleviate cluttering up the other ones more about actual observations.