State government offices emptied out Friday as a double-whammy of rain and snow barreled in on metro Atlanta, forcing schools across north Georgia to close and prompting Gov. Nathan Deal to declare a state of emergency for much of the region.
Deal ordered state employees across the area to head home at noon Friday to give state transportation workers the chance to treat roads with a brine mixture. Yet many can't shake the specter of the epic gridlock of 2014, when icy roads were slammed with cars and trucks after the near-simultaneous exodus of workers and students.
“I’d rather to have prepared and for it to not happen than to be unprepared and for it to happen,” Deal said. “We’ve been on the safe side of this and we’ll continue to be there. I know there will be inconveniences that may not materialize. But if the weather does get worse, then we’ll all be glad we were ready for it.”
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed urged employers to let their workers go home Friday before the wave of wintry weather pummeled the area - but not at at the same time.
"It's extremely important that when people leave, they not all leave at once," he said at a press conference. "Once you're hom with your family, we really need you to stay at home."
Forecasters predict metro Atlanta could get a dusting to 2 inches of snow and a tenth of an inch or less of ice. Higher elevations in north Georgia could get more than a foot of snow, while other areas are expected to get between 2 and 8 inches.
Deal said workers will begin to tap into stockpiles of brine the moment the rain clears, and the Georgia Department of Transportation urged motorists to stay off roads between 3 and 6 p.m. so they can spread the solution.
“We’re prepared,” said Deal. “And that’s the good thing.”
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