Winter storm knocks out power for thousands of Georgians, halts flights
A massive winter storm drenched Georgia with freezing rain Sunday, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses across the state, slickening roads and keeping hundreds of flights in and out of Atlanta grounded.
The winter storm also encased cars in ice, halted mass transit services and prompted many grocery stores to modify their hours.
More pain is likely on the way.
Tornadoes, additional power outages and “impossible travel” could happen in parts of North Georgia on Sunday, the National Weather Service warned.
“Dangerously cold nighttime temperatures from Monday to potentially Thursday will be an added concern for those still without power and vulnerable populations,” the National Weather Service said. “There will be an additional risk for severe thunderstorms in central Georgia Sunday afternoon with a threat for damaging wind gusts and a tornado or two.”
Gov. Brian Kemp urged motorists to stay off the roads Sunday, warning “there is more coming.” Ahead of the storm, Kemp declared a state of emergency and deployed 120 Georgia National Guard members to the northeast part of the state for clearing routes.
“It is going to get worse as the day goes on,” he said Sunday morning on X. “Let us do our work and stay safe out there.”
State officials were scheduled to deliver an update on conditions at 3 p.m. Sunday. Their news conference will be streamed live on gpb.org.
More than 30,000 homes and business across Georgia were without power as of Sunday morning, including thousands in the Atlanta area, according to poweroutage.us.
Georgia Power and the state’s electric membership cooperatives said they were prepared to restore power but warned icy conditions could hamper their efforts. They urged customers to plan for the possibility of extended outages.
“Repeat outages are a concern with ice storms and/or repeat freezing or high winds,” Georgia Power spokesperson Joshua Peacock said. “It’s a great reminder for customers that this storm may not be over quickly, and winds/refreezing will continue to be a challenge.”
More than 1,000 flights remained canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday morning, according to flight tracking website flightaware.com. Nationwide, more than 10,600 flights were canceled as of Sunday.
Meanwhile, the automated people mover that connects passengers between Atlanta’s airport, local hotels and the rental car center was down Sunday morning. Instead, buses were shuttling passengers to the domestic terminal.
Citing unsafe road conditions, MARTA suspended bus service on Route 185, an Alpharetta line that runs from the North Springs Station to Old Milton Parkway along Ga. 400. Trains were operating on special schedules Sunday because of the weather. The Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority suspended its commuter bus service for Monday because of the icy conditions.
Meanwhile, more than 360 Publix grocery stores across the Southeast were operating with modified hours, including many in the Atlanta region.
About 200 power outages were reported in Suches, a small community in North Georgia’s Union County.
“There are a few slick roads in the southern part of the county,” said David Dyer, Union County’s Emergency Management Agency director. “High winds. Otherwise, rain.”
In Macon, there was misting rain but no reports of ice Sunday morning.
“So far, so good,” Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee said.
AJC staff writers Sara Gregory, Joe Kovac Jr., Fletcher Page, Savannah Sicurella, Kristi Swartz and J. Scott Trubey contributed to this report.
About the Authors
Jeremy Redmon is an award-winning journalist, essayist and educator with more than three decades of experience reporting for newspapers. He has written for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2005.
