Last year’s epic gridlock was never far from the minds of senior state leaders who braced for another round of wintry weather last month.
They scrambled response teams and prepared social media strategies. They worried whether a new brine mix would work as well as promised. They fretted that complacency would set in. They struggled with conflicting forecasts.
And when the threat had passed, they thumbed their noses at would-be critics and claimed triumph over a foe that was a no-show in the state’s most populous counties.
“I declare VICTORY for our team,” enthused the new head of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, Jim Butterworth, after quoting at length from an inspirational broadside penned by Theodore Roosevelt. (“It is not the critic who counts … those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat … “)
Butterworth’s emails were among thousands of documents reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They show Gov. Nathan Deal’s deputies and emergency staffers pushing for a more proactive response while also striving to strike a balance between preparation and overreaction.
Above all, the documents show, state officials feared a replay of the Jan. 28, 2014, embarrassment that left thousands of motorists and students stranded — some overnight — after icy conditions gridlocked Atlanta’s highways.
“A little more than 380 days later, we are facing a similar if not identical weather pattern as last year,” Chris Riley, the governor’s chief of staff, wrote to state officials on Feb. 15 as the first in a series of snowy fronts barreled in on Georgia.
There was, of course, no repeat. But the documents offer a glimpse of how the state’s leaders reacted to the prospect.
‘What about Al Roker?’
The first of the storms began menacing Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 14, and emergency officials consulted the Weather Advisory Group, a detachment of local forecasters that were first convened to give state leaders advice after last year's snowjam.
One forecaster emailed later that day that he expected the storm front to dump “mostly rain” when it slammed Georgia a few days later. Will Lanxton, GEMA’s meteorologist, wrote his bosses that he “could not disagree with him more” and predicted as much as four inches of snow.
Emails flew back and forth with updated forecasts and orders to dispatch crews. Roads were pre-treated and equipment was doled out. Deal spokesman Brian Robinson alerted Riley that CNN was planning to report Atlanta would be hit with a “winter storm during the Monday morning commute.”
Riley responded: “What about Al Roker? Has he checked in yet or is he still trying to figure out what happens when snow hits ground that is above freezing and then the temp falls below freezing and it is no longer snow.”
(The NBC weatherman was one of the harshest critics of Georgia’s response to the icy weather last year.)
By that Sunday evening, Deal had declared a state of emergency for a section of north Georgia and ordered most state employees to stay home.
‘June can’t get here fast enough’
As more waves of ice and snow threatened, the new head of the emergency department braced for his first test in office. Butterworth, a former Georgia National Guard boss who took the job in January, sent routine updates to Deal’s senior staff, leavening his comments with an occasional dose of humor.
“June can’t get here fast enough,” he wrote in a Feb. 17 email to Deal’s top aides.
He sometimes prefaced his frequent notes with “it’s me again” — and ended them with a warning.
"I believe the plan for this morning is solid," he wrote in a Feb. 24 email at 4:33 a.m. "Not to be the bearer of bad news but it appears that the forecast for Wednesday will be the tricky one."
Later that afternoon, he wrote again:
"We are once again ramping up in preparation of incoming weather. I'm sure you're tired of hearing this by now but the National Weather Service has indicated a true threat for metro Atlanta this go-round."
The Georgia Department of Transportation also had a new leader at the helm, Commissioner Russell McMurry, the former chief engineer who was promoted in January. McMurry canceled a trip to Washington D.C., where he was to attend a meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, in order to help coordinate storm response plans the week of Feb. 24.
Conspicuously absent from inter-agency communications was the man who took the brunt of criticism during last year’s debacle: Charley English. The former GEMA director stepped down in November to take the more behind-the-scenes role of deputy director.
English was not copied in high-level internal communications between GEMA staff, or between GEMA, GDOT and the Governor’s Office.
When asked why, GEMA Chief of Staff Lauren Curry said English is now deputy director of programs and finance, a post that deals with the budget and grants, not field operations during a crisis.
Attaboys all around
Early on, Deal’s chief operating officer, Bart Gobeil, told a WSB-TV meteorologist that the approaching storms would be a “good drill for our team and operations.” After the fact, GEMA and GDOT seemed to believe they passed with flying colors.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, after the first major test of the state’s new winter response plans, McMurry sent his transportation staffers an email thanking them for a job well done.
“I’m so very proud of the execution of a well prepared plan (that many of you developed). GDOT has been praised everywhere and it is impressive!” McMurry wrote.
Two days later, Butterworth praised his executive staffers and the state meteorologist. He said they had focused resources, manpower and support where it was needed.
“Excellent, excellent, excellent,” he wrote.
By that Saturday, Butterworth, appearing near the point of elation, issued his declaration of victory.
In response, Butterworth’s administrative assistant, Rita Smith, wrote that he was an “Awesome Boss and Leader. People feel your energy & positive nature. I am blessed to work for you!”
Butterworth wasn’t the only one celebrating the state’s response. In an interview, Deal said it was a template for how the state will react to future waves of wintry weather.
“We are much better prepared than we have been in the past. We had a coordinated effort. And we acquired the equipment that we needed,” he said.
“Still,” the governor added, “I’m praying for an early spring.”
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