Atlanta Governors in southern U.S. states declared states of emergency and closed schools throughout the region on Friday as a strong winter storm that dumped heavy snow and crusted roadways with ice throughout most of Texas and Oklahoma lumbered eastward.
Sarah Sanders, the governor of Arkansas, called in the National Guard to assist stranded drivers. Millions of youngsters throughout a vast region of southern states, spanning from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina, had their schools canceled.
The National Weather Service predicted that Friday will see some of the heaviest snowfall across the northern half of Arkansas and much of Tennessee, with totals in some areas of those states ranging from 6 to 9 inches.
In parts of Arkansas, where schools were closed on Friday, up to a foot of snow fell. Memphis, Tennessee, had already received six inches of snow between late Thursday and early Friday, and the flakes continued to fall heavily and wetly.
Travel was dangerous farther south and east into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia due to a wintry mix of ice, snow, and sleet.
According to flight tracking software FlightAware, hundreds of flights were canceled and hundreds more were delayed at Atlanta’s airport when snow started to fall in metro Atlanta before morning. Before 8 a.m., controllers announced a ground stop, which prevented any aircraft from landing or taking off. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world and a significant hub for Delta Air Lines.
Officials at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport said that a Delta Air Lines aircraft headed for Minneapolis aborted takeoff on Friday morning, injuring four passengers.
Three passengers received on-scene treatment for minor injuries, while one passenger was transported to a hospital for treatment. Although Delta stated that it was uncertain whether the weather had anything to do with the flight’s aborted departure, the incident did lead to additional airport delays.
Nashville, Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, North Carolina, and other airports experienced major cancellations and delays. On Thursday, 55 passengers slept overnight at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock after three American Airlines aircraft were diverted from Dallas-Fort Worth.
On her day off from school, 12-year-old Mikayla Johnson was out in Atlanta creating snowmen and snow angels.
My initial reaction was, “Wow!” Mikayla said while she and her father, Nate, were outside. At the very least, we haven’t experienced snow since I was around four years old. I am therefore quite happy.
In certain areas of northern Texas and central Oklahoma, the storm poured up to 7 inches.
Additionally, following three consecutive snow days, students in a few of districts in the Kansas City area returned to class on Thursday. However, due to additional snow, classes were canceled on Friday.
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas advised citizens to stay away from driving if at all possible. The Cotton Bowl, a college football championship quarterfinal between Texas and Ohio State, was anticipated to draw around 75,000 spectators to AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Friday.
Though it occasionally moves south into the United States, Europe, and Asia, the polar vortex of extremely cold air mostly circles the North Pole. According to some analysts, these kinds of catastrophes are paradoxically occurring more frequently as a result of global warming.
Rare January wildfires were raging over the Los Angeles region at the same time as the cold snap.
According to the meteorological service, portions of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia could receive up to 8 inches of snow through Saturday. On Friday, snow and ice were predicted to build up around metro Atlanta, making roads dangerous and potentially resulting in power disruptions.
In metro Atlanta and north Georgia, over a million public school pupils were either at home learning online or had a snow day.
Georgia officials were fast to close businesses Friday and postpone in-person lessons after a devastating snowstorm in 2014 left thousands of schoolchildren and workers in the Atlanta region trapped overnight away from home.
Emergency personnel in Georgia claimed to have learned from previous ice storms in Atlanta. According to James Stallings, director of Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security, teams are towing automobiles that are stuck in the snow during this storm. This was a major issue during previous ice and snow storms when interstates and roadways were jammed with stalled cars and trucks.
In the northern part of Alabama, where state highways were mostly covered in snow or ice and some were already impassable, several schools canceled classes on Friday, according to a statement released by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Friday morning.
A state of emergency was imposed for Tennessee as well. With almost 100,000 kids, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the largest school district in the state, closed all of its schools on Friday. According to a spokesman, tours at Graceland, the former residence that is now a museum dedicated to Elvis Presley, were canceled on Friday.
On Friday, Joe Feliciano trudged across snow-covered sidewalks to deliver mail in Nashville. Although the Florida native isn’t used to driving in the snow, he is now confident despite his nervousness thanks to training from the USPS. “Just be careful and drive slowly,” he urged.
This is amazing! Feliciano remarked, “This is a lot of snow,” adding that he had relocated to Tennessee at the end of 2023.
It was the first wintry weather in parts of South Carolina in three years. Vehicles were sliding off ice Interstate 95 south of the city, although the state Department of Transportation was treating major roadways and interstates from Columbia northward. On Friday, a few schools were closed.
North Carolina was placed in a state of emergency by Governor Josh Stein. A public outdoor inauguration ceremony for Stein and other statewide elected officials was canceled in Raleigh on Saturday due to the impending rain.
