Arctic Blast Brings Ice Back To Metro Roads, Highways

ATLANTA -- Metro Atlanta woke up to a third day of winter weather and an ice glaze that made driving just as treacherous as when the snow started to fall on Sunday.

Georgia Department of Transportation crews worked through the night to clear the roads of ice and snow and officials said interstates appeared to be completely passable, yet remained slick.

An oveight refreeze is mostly to blame for dangerous conditions on secondary streets, officials said. Channel 2’s GA Daily News reported the biggest problem for drivers on Wednesday moing may be confidence. Jones reported multiple areas in south metro Atlanta where roads are dry and clear and suddenly become ice covered and slick.

"This was the iciest my drive to work has been all week," said GA Daily News traffic reporter Mark Arum. "I definitely think people should think twice about driving this moing."

Arum reports the worst driving conditions are on elevated pavement, especially on bridges over the Chattahoochee River. The ice caused a tractor trailer to jackknife on the Downtown Connector early Wednesday near University Avenue, according to authorities.

In Atlanta, which had only 10 pieces of snow equipment when the storm hit, officials planned to bring in nearly 50 more pieces -- the most resources marshaled for a storm in a decade. Mayor Kasim Reed said backup supplies of salt and sand were on the way, too.

Crashes had also closed sections of I-20, I-285 in Cobb County and Ga. 400 in south Forsyth County in the early moing hours as an arctic cold front moved into north Georgia dropping temperatures.

”We should see a little improvement Wednesday, but it will be slow to happen. The big key for the metro area will be sunshine. Even with temperatures remaining below freezing, solar energy will aid in melting of the snow and ice along roads and bridges, said Severe Weather Team 2 meteorologist David Chandley.

”A strong northwest wind will also help in evaporation once melting begins. However we plunge back into the deep freeze Wednesday night with lows well into the teens. Most of the ice and snow will remain most of the week, Chandley said.

Mail delivery was restricted to just a few places because postal employees could not get to work. Many schools and other institutions planned to stay closed Wednesday out of caution.

Entrepreneurs in Atlanta haven’t missed an opportunity: Someone set up a website hawking T-shirts and other souvenirs for "Hothlanta," a play on the city nickname "Hotlanta" and the frozen planet Hoth from the Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back." One showed an enemy robot walker and a sign for Waffle House, the iconic southe diner chain.