Atlanta weather | Roadways remain an icy mess as temps plunge

8 p.m.:DeKalb County is closing until further notice at least 15 major intersections or ramps because of ice and snow. Some of them are North Decatur Road and Church Street, North Peachtree Road and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Woodcliff Road and Briarcliff Road, and North Peachtree Road and North Shallowford Road.

7:55 p.m.: MARTA will offered limited bus service Thursday on 15 routes. There will be service 5:30 a.m. until 1:30 A.M. on the following routes: 1, 4, 16, 21, 49, 73, 83, 89, 95, 99, 110, 178, 181, 186 and 189.

7:51 p.m.: Fayetteville Municipal court cases set for Jan. 11 have now been set for 8 a.m. on Feb. 15.

7:34 p.m.: Zoo Atlanta will be closed Thursday though administrative offices will open at 11 a.m.

7:31 p.m.: Wrestling's Team Duals state championships have been canceled for this weekend. The new date is Feb. 25-26.

7:05 p.m.: All regular Cobb Community Transit routes will return to normal operations Thursday while there will be limited service on express routes.

6:35 p.m.: Conyers city government offices will open Thursday at 10 a.m.

6:27 p.m.: Fayette County schools will be closed Thursday.

6:27 p.m.: Henry County schools and Eagles Landing Christian Academy will be closed Thursday.

6:22 p.m.:MARTA's phone system will shut down temporarily for repairs at 7 p.m.

6:15 p.m.: Citizen Review Board meeting Thursday canceled. Will be rescheduled.

6:02 p.m.: Rockdale County schools closed Thursday.

5:47 p.m.: John Marshall Law School will be closed Thursday. Normal operations to resume Friday.

5:47 p.m.: Paulding County Courthouse and other government buildings will return to normal operations Thursday.

5:36 p.m.:Roswell to resume trash pickup on Friday. Tuesday customers will be served on Friday. Wednesday and Thursday customers will be served on Saturday. Friday customers will be served on Sunday.

5:36 p.m.: Decatur schools closed Thursday.

5:34 p.m.: Henry County schools closed Thursday, including athletics and extracurricular activities.

5:18 p.m.: Clayton County schools will be closed Thursday. But maintenance crews should report to work at 9 a.m.

5:04 p.m.: AirTran Airways is adding five extra flights to or from Atlanta Thursday and expect fewer cancellations as the company moves into "full recovery mode."

4:58 p.m.:Georgia Department of Labor offices will be open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. the rest of the week.

4:52 p.m.: Douglas County schools are closed Thursday.

4:48 p.m.: DeKalb County resumes trash collection on Thursday. Residences with Thursday or Monday service will have pickup on Thursday. Customers with Tuesday or Friday service will be picked up on Friday. Areas not reached on Thursday or Friday will have Saturday service.

4:39 p.m.: DeKalb County offices -- including Recorders Court and Parks and Recreation -- will return to normal operations Thursday, officials said.

4:34 p.m.: Georgia Tech is opening at 10 a.m. Thursday.

4:30 p.m.: Atlanta Public Schools are closed Thursday.

4:25 p.m.: Cherokee County schools are closed Thursday.

4:24 p.m.: Publix Super Market stores are going back to their normal business hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., a spokeswoman said.

4:09 p.m.: Fulton County schools are closed Thursday. 12-month employees are to report by 12 p.m.

3:55 p.m.: DeKalb County schools are closed Thursday.

3:54 p.m.: Carroll County schools are closed Thursday.

3:29 p.m.: Marietta City schools are closed Thursday.

3:09 p.m.: Georgia State University classes are canceled Thursday. Faculty and staff to report at 11 a.m.

3:04 p.m.: Cobb County schools are closed Thursday.

3:01 p.m.: Gwinnett County schools are closed Thursday.

2:42 p.m.: Mayor Kasim Reed's State of the City Address, scheduled for Thursday morning, has been postponed. A new date and time has not been determined.

2:41 p.m.: DeKalb County's Planning, Economic Development and Public Works Committee is canceled Thursday

2:40 p.m.: Gwinnett County has suspended all local transit services for Wednesday. officials will decide tonight whether it will run Express and Local Bus services Thursday.

2:38 p.m.: North Georgia College & State University plans to open at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Grounds maintenance personnel are asked to report at 8:00 a.m.

2:28 p.m.: Smyrna City Hall and Water Department Drive-through are closing at 5 p.m.

2:27 p.m.: Smyrna Library, the Wolf Recreation Center and the Smyrna Community Center are closing at 6 p.m.

2:26 p.m.: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra cancels "A King Celebration" concert scheduled for Thursday. Refunds are available -- beginning Tuesday --  at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office at 15th and Peachtree streets or by calling 404-733-5000.

2:24 p.m.: Paulding County schools are closed Thursday.

2:21 p.m.: DeKalb County Sanitation will resume residential garbage collection Thursday for residences that are on Monday/Thursday curbside service. Collection will start again Friday for residences that receive Tuesday/Friday pickup. Service will extend into Saturday as needed to get to any areas that were inaccessible Thursday or Friday, officials said.

2:18 p.m.: Alpharetta has canceled residential trash and recycling services for the week. They will resume on Monday, Jan. 17. Overflow trash also will be collected as long as it is placed curbside, authorities said.

2:13 p.m.: University of Georgia to resume classes at 11 a.m. Thursday.

1:55 p.m.: Hall County schools are closed Thursday.

1:32 p.m.: Highway 140 at the Fulton and Cherokee County line is closed due because of ice, county officials said.

1:09 p.m.: MARTA has updated its website but is still having technical difficulties with its phone system including the customer service line (404-848-5000).

1 p.m.: Snow flurries are picking up in intensity in northwest Cobb County near Kennesaw.

12:58 p.m.: Wednesday night's Woodstock City Council meeting has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday. The Roswell Historic Preservation Commission meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday has been canceled. No makeup has been announced.

12:55 p.m.: From Woodstock police: The City of Woodstock Municipal Court date canceled for Wednesday has been reset for March 15 at 5:30 p.m.

12:54 p.m.: Forsyth County school officials have canceled classes for Thursday.

12:48 p.m.: From MARTA: Please be advised that MARTA is currently experiencing technical difficulties with its customer information phone line (404-848-5000) and website and is working quickly to fix the issue.

12:30 p.m.: Southbound Ga. 400 at Abernathy Road has reopened to traffic.

12:15 p.m.: The southbound lanes of Ga. 400 have been shut down at Abernathy Road, according to Sandy Springs police Lt. Steve Rose.

12:04 p.m.: At noon, the National Weather Service reported 25 degrees and flurries in Marietta and partly sunny skies elsewhere, with the temperature 25 in Chamblee and Dunwoody and 26 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and

11:37 a.m.: The Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless has issued an urgent plea for prepared food for approximately 700 homeless residents. "The organizations scheduled each night to bring food have been unable to get out to serve our residents because of the weather," spokeswoman Anita Beaty said. "We are running out of prepared food." Beaty said the shelter is also facing an emergency situation in providing for  those in need with food, blankets, warm coats, bottled water, and toilet paper. Information on how to help is available at http://www.homelesstaskforce.org/.

11:35 a.m.: A jack-knifed tractor-trailer has shut down all southbound lanes of I-285 near Ga. 166. In Cobb County, Sandy Plains Road has reopened near Canton Road.

11:33 a.m.: Fulton County government offices are open for business. Some departments are operating with skeleton crews, but employees are using public transportation and other means to trickle into work. Fulton County courts are closed, with the exception of first appearance hearings being held at the county jail.

11:30 a.m.: The U.S. Postal Service confirmed that operations are improving. "We're expecting a vast improvement over operations in all areas," spokesman Michael Miles told the AJC. "That doesn't mean that it's normal, but we're starting to see things move in that direction."

11:25 a.m.: Very light snow flurries just began again in northwest Cobb County near Kennesaw.

11:08 a.m.: Temperature across metro Atlanta have rebounded to the mid-20s from an early morning low around 20 degrees. The National Weather Service reported flurries in Dalton at 11 a.m.

11:07 a.m.: South Cobb Drive at the East-West Connector in Smyrna has reopened, according to police.

10:58 a.m.: MARTA is resuming a limited bus schedule on nine routes at 11 a.m. Spokeswoman Cara Hodgson issued the following statement:

Buses will be returned to the garage by 5 p.m. when temperatures start to drop. Customers are strongly urged to plan accordingly and complete their trips prior to bus service ending at 5 p.m. We will provide an update regarding service for Thursday as soon as it becomes available.

Rail service is operating on a Saturday/Sunday schedule; however, customers should expect to experience delays.

Bus Routes In Service:

Route 1 Centennial Olympic Park/Coronet Way

Route 4 Thomasville/Moreland Avenue

Route 16 Noble

Route 21 Memorial Drive

Route 49 McDonough Boulevard

Route 99 Boulevard/Monroe Drive

Route 110 Peachtree Street (Reroute listed below)

Route 181 Buffington Road/South Fulton

Route 186 Rainbow Drive/South DeKalb

Route 110 Reroute: Inbound -- Traveling along Peachtree Street, the route will take a right on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and then a right on Broad Street. Outbound -- Route will take a right on Alabama Street and a left on Peachtree Street. Route 110 buses will not go into Arts Center Station.

10:55 a.m.: Authorities in Marietta have closed Sandy Plains Road between Canton Road and the Canton Road Connector. "There is an extreme amount of ice in the Canton Road and Sandy Plains area as well as Sandy Plains Road and Scufflegrit Road," Marietta police spokeswoman Jenny Murphy said.

10:50 a.m.: Roswell police Lt. James McGee tells the AJC that Ga. 92 in Roswell is blocked by cars stuck on the ice. "The road is backed up all the way to the Cobb County line," McGee said shortly before 11 a.m. On the brighter side, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard southbound in Doraville has finally been reopened after being shut down most of the morning.

Ga. Hwy 92 in Roswell is becoming blocked do to cars stuck on the ice. The road is backed up all the way to the Cobb County Line.

10:45 a.m.: A FedEx spokeswoman told the AJC that the carrier is "slowly resuming operations," particularly toward the southern end of metro Atlanta. Customers should still expect some delays in receiving their package, however. "Employees are doing the best they can to get packages delivered," FedEx spokeswoman Sally Davenport told the AJC.

10:35 a.m.: Forsyth County government offices will open at 11 a.m. Wednesday. This includes county government offices, the Forsyth County Courthouse, and Superior and State Courts.

10:30 a.m.: The State Board of Education's monthly meeting has just been postponed from Thursday to Jan. 20. The board initially was slated to meet this week on Wednesday and Thursday. The winter storms then caused the board to decided just to have a one-day meeting on Thursday. But Superintendent John D. Barge said a one-day meeting is now set for Jan. 20, starting at 8:30 a.m.

10:24 a.m.: The northbound lanes of South Cobb Drive at the East-West Connector are impassable, according to Smyna police spokesman Michael Smith. "Other areas to avoid are Lake Park Drive, Highlands Parkway, Cooper Lake Road and Cooper Lake Drive," Smith told the AJC.

10:22 a.m.: From Roswell police Lt. James McGee: "The Roswell police Department are asking everyone to stay off of the Roads in the City of Roswell. With the thawing and re-freezing of the ice; the roads have become more dangerous. We are asking all persons to please stay off of the roads in the City of Roswell unless it is an emergency."

10:00 a.m.: If you need to get to the Publix Super Market, it should be open by now. The grocer closed Tuesday at 4 p.m. and expected to reopen its metro Atlanta locations Wednesday at 9 a.m., a spokeswoman said. Kroger, CVS, Rite Aid and other stores should be open as well.

9:42 a.m.: Perimeter, Southlake, Cumberland, North Point and Town Center at Cobb shopping malls will be open Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m. The Mall of Georgia will also be opening at noon, while Phipps Plaza is planning to open at 11 a.m. Opening at 10 a.m. are Gwinnett Place, Lenox and Northlake malls, although Northlake is likely to close early. All Simon malls will close at 5 p.m.

9:35 a.m.: A UPS spokeswoman told the AJC that the Sandy Springs-based carrier is dispatching trucks throughout metro Atlanta and the Southeast on Wednesday as some of the roads are starting to become passable.

9:30 a.m.: Northbound lanes of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard have reopened to traffic, but southbound lanes remain closed near Tilly Mill Road. In Norcross, police are reporting that Buford Highway is closed between North Norcross Tucker Road and Jimmy Carter Boulevard.

9:28 a.m.: Georgia Electric Membership Corporation now reporting 2,268 EMC customers without power in the eastern part of the state.

9:09 a.m.: The state Department of Transportation reporting that I-285 eastbound remains impassable at Cobb Parkway. The ramp from I-285 southbound to U.S. 78 eastbound, and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard near Tilly Mill Road also remain blocked, according to the DOT.

9:05 a.m.: Temperatures have finally bottomed out, and have started to slowly climb, with 21 degrees reported at 9 a.m.

8:33 a.m.: The Supreme Court of Georgia will be closed Wednesday.

8:14 a.m.: From Cobb County spokesman Robert Quigley: Cobb County government offices and Cobb State Court will delay opening until 10 AM. Cobb County Superior and Juvenile courts will open at 1 PM Wednesday. There will be no CCT Bus Service on Wednesday.

8:02 a.m.: Skies have cleared and the sun is shining, but temperatures have dropped another degree, to 20, and forecasters are warning that readings 24 hours from now will likely be about 5 degrees colder, in the mid-teens.

7:46 a.m.: Peachtree Industrial Boulevard is shut down in both directions due to severe icing near Tilly Mill Road.

7:40 a.m.: Fulton County Jail officials have canceled inmate visitation for the third straight day.

7:25 a.m.: Georgia Electrical Membership Corporation now reporting 3,000 EMC customers in middle and east Georgia without power.

7:18 a.m.: Temperatures continue to drop, and are at 21 degrees across most of metro Atlanta, with wind chill as low as 8.

7:15 a.m.: From the "Just what we didn't need" department: A water main break has been reported in the 5300 block of Rockbridge Road near U.S. 78. Another water main break is reported by Atlanta police in the 2100 block of  Peachtree Road in Buckhead.

7:02 a.m.: The number of flights operating at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is increasing, but there are still many cancellations. The airport's website shows that 16 of the 39 Delta Air Lines flights scheduled through 8 a.m. have been canceled.

6:41 a.m.: Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley reports that there is currently snow on the ground in 49 states, with Florida being the only state that is snow-free.

6:36 a.m.: All northbound lanes of I-85 are blocked by a truck wreck near Shallowford Road, according to the state Department of Transportation. In southwest Atlanta, all lanes of I-285 southbound are blocked, while in DeKalb County, the northbound lanes of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard were reported impassable at 6:30 a.m.

6:23 a.m.: A wreck blocks several lanes of I-75 southbound near Windy Hill Road in Cobb County.

6:19 a.m.: The U.S.  Postal Service says operations across north Georgia should begin returning to normal. "We expect to see operations return to near normal on Wednesday," says Atlanta District Manager Kate F. Wiley. "Icy road conditions made it difficult to transport mail to and from postal facilities and prevented many employees from reporting to work earlier in the week, but we expect to be able to deliver mail to more areas and provide retail service at all area post offices on Wednesday."

6:14 a.m.: Power lines continue to hold up pretty well. Georgia Power reports less than three dozen customers in the dark statewide. About 300 EMC customers were without electricity in middle Georgia.

6:10 a.m.: Temperatures continue to drop; 6 a.m. readings include 22 in Marietta and at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport . Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton says scattered snow flurries continued overnight, as far south as Canton. Afternoon highs will only be around 30 degrees, Minton said.

5:47 a.m.: A wreck has shut down the ramp from I-285 westbound to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

5:42 a.m.: Authorities have re opened Ga. 400 in Sandy Springs following an overnight wreck involving a van that slid into the median wall. Sandy Springs police Lt. Steve Rose said the wreck happened about 9 p.m. just south of the Chattahoochee River. The van's driver was seriously injured and is in the intensive care unit at North Fulton Hospital,  but is expected to survive, Rose said.

5;35 a.m.: The DOT says that although most metro interstates are passable, motorists who must travel should wait until after daybreak to get on the roads due to icy conditions.

5:20 a.m.: The DOT reports that I-285 eastbound at Cobb Parkway is impassable, as is the ramp from I-20 eastbound to the southbound Downtown Connector.

5:10 a.m.: Temperatures are well below freezing metrowide. Readings at 5 a.m. include 23 degrees in Marietta, Chamblee and at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 25 in Peachtree City. Wind chills are as low as 9 degrees in Marietta.

5:00 a.m.: Mark Arum in the WSB Radio Traffic Center reports that roadways remain very icy across metro Atlanta. Virtually all metro school systems remain closed for the third straight day.