Thousands of motorists on a Georgia highway were caught in a 15-hour traffic jam caused by the rare snowstorm that hit the southern US a day earlier.
Many were forced to sleep in their own cars until shortly before noon on January 22 as temperatures dropped from 29F to 14F.
The stand still took place in Monroe County, about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta, and ended when the Georgia State Patrol cleared the congested northbound side of Interstate-75.
According to Fox5Forsyth in metro Atlanta received 2.2 inches of snow — the highest in the Atlanta area, while the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport set a record after receiving 1.1 inches.
Icy pavement and several accidents north of Forsyth caused the backup, said Anna Watkins, a spokeswoman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The Georgia Department of Transportation reportedly applied a layer of deicing chemicals before the storm.
However, the one-time snowfall left most of Atlanta covered in about an inch of snow except Kennesaw, Marietta and Acworth, leaving many underprepared.
Areas of Cordele in Crisp County were ultimately covered in nine inches of slush, while Camilla in Mitchell County received eight — both the highest in the state.
Thousands of motorists on a Georgia highway were caught in a 15-hour traffic jam on January 22 as temperatures dropped from 29F to 14F
The stand still took place in Monroe County, about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta, and ended when the Georgia State Patrol cleared the congested northbound side of Interstate-75.
Emma Worley was one of those unlucky drivers who got stuck on Tuesday night and could barely move until 11am the next morning
Emma Worley told it WSBTV that she was driving home to Cherokee County from Savannah when she became stuck just north of the Georgia Highway 42 exit Tuesday evening. At 11 a.m. Wednesday, she said she had barely moved.
“I didn’t sleep,” Worley said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that in my entire life.”
She said she waited 15 hours without “eating, sleeping, nothing.”
James Talabert and his girlfriend were also stuck in traffic, but had a much longer journey ahead of them. They drove from Miami, Florida, to Minnesota.
“We have nothing to eat,” Talabert said. “We only have water and we’ve been here since last night. It’s quite ridiculous.’
Mark Coombs was returning from Americus, Georgia, to his home in Locust Grove, which is normally just a half-hour drive from where he got stuck.
“It is what it is,” Coombs said, adding that he grew up in the North, where snow is much more common and authorities are usually better prepared. ‘You go outside in bad weather, you have to deal with it.’
But as sunny temperatures began to melt the snowstorm, Georgia’s Emergency Management Agency warned residents not to drive after sunset.
“Another freeze will likely occur tonight once the sun sets and any remaining water, snow and/or ice will refreeze overnight. Black Ice is possible for locations where there is still snow/ice on the ground, so for safety reasons, stay home and off the roads once the sun sets,” the agency wrote in an X. after.
The southbound lanes of I-75 were not affected and traffic was flowing normally on both sides by mid-afternoon Wednesday.
A Georgia highway is covered in snow as motorists begin their drive to Atlanta (photo)
Icy pavement and several accidents north of Forsyth were to blame for the traffic jam, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Snow is starting to stick on I-285 in Tucker, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta
A mother walks with her two sons through heavy snow in New Orleans, Louisiana. The city received as much as 10 centimeters on Tuesday
This week’s historic storm dumped record-breaking snow levels across about 1,500 miles of the South, covering large parts of Texas, Louisiana and Florida in particular.
It closed airports, paralyzed roads and led to the deaths of at least 10 people, he said ABC-7.
As of Wednesday evening, seven deaths had been reported in Texas, two in Alabama and at least one death in Georgia.
Nearly 2,000 flights to, from or within the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, while about 10,000 others were delayed, according to online tracker FlightAware.com. More than 1,800 flights were canceled on Wednesday.
Many areas had more snow than they had since the 1880s, and frigid temperatures allowed some in New Orleans to play ice hockey on the city’s frozen streets or take makeshift ski courses.