ATLANTA — Icy conditions from melting snow and ice refreezing after Friday night’s storm caused several school districts to cancel or delay school for Monday.
Officials said they made the decision because they didn't want to chance any problems that could be caused by the frigid temperatures and icy roads.
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This weekend's storm brought more ice than snow to many metro Atlanta areas. Some of that ice melted during the days on Saturday and Sunday, but Monday morning, many roads in the northern metro still had icy patches.
Sunday was the coldest morning in Atlanta in two years, as temperatures dropped to 15 at the airport. Monday was a bit warmer, but still began well below freezing.
By midday Monday, temperatures made it into the low 40s in some parts.
Meteorologist Brad Nitz said we will not get much warmer Monday, hanging below the average temperature for this time of year.
“As we head through the afternoon, we’ll climb to 43 in Atlanta, still well below the average (temperature), but that’s the beginning of a warming trend,” Nitz said.
Nitz said those temperatures will not be enough to melt all the ice on the roadways, especially in the shaded areas, so there could still be some icy patches Tuesday morning.
"We'll be cold again falling back to the 30s by 9 p.m., back to freezing by midnight and down into the 20s tomorrow morning, but not quite as far into the 20s -- the upper 20s," Nitz said.
Tuesday afternoon temperatures will rise into the 50s.
By mid-week, temps are expected to reach the mid-60s, and even the low-70s by the week’s end.
On Sunday evening, Channel 2’s Nicole Carr drove throughout Cobb County where she found icy roads on secondary and neighborhood access roads throughout the northern part of the county and in west Cobb. Many of those roads remained icy Monday morning.
A recording sent out to parents and students Sunday by the school district said: "The Cobb County School District is canceling school and all activities on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, for all students and staff. Icy roads are a problem in the northern part of the county. Thank you."
Carr found drivers taking their time driving a long Pine Mountain Way. Drivers told her there were patches of ice where the sun didn’t hit the road during the day Sunday.
In others areas, like Gordon Combs Road NW in Marietta, it was apparent early on that many secondary roads would be in no condition for school bus traffic Monday morning.
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Carr found one icy neighborhood street keeping residents in the area stranded on Sunday.
Driver Reese Simmons told Carr she experienced a bit of trouble on the highway as well.
“The worst drive we had was actually on the interstate, right here on 75. The left lane had some patches of ice right under the bridge so that was the worst problem we had," Simmons said.
But by sunset it was a different story.
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"Nothing but icy roads and sidewalks,” Juan Alvarez, of Marietta, told Carr. "I watched one of my co-workers, a manager, fall today dumping the garbage."
Glistening sheets of ice off other side roads in Marietta made it clear that a portion of the county would make the ultimate decision for all Cobb County students.
Cox Media Group
