Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed declared a state of emergency for North Georgia and the city as a winter storm approaches the region. During a noon press conference, Deal said North Georgia is facing two waves of bad weather, which will begin arriving tonight.
Deal said he feared the second wave, which will arrive Tuesday into Wednesday, will be more serious with the threat of ice and power outages. “Ice presents a great challenge for utilities,” Deal said. “There’s a possibility this could be a problem.”
The governor said the State Operations Center would be fully activated by 3 p.m. today and resources for treating roads have been restocked and moved where problems might occur. Deal said the Georgia Emergency Management Agency is sending information to county school superintendents and encouraging them to act quickly and announce cancellation of classes as necessary.
Mayor Reed said the city’s operations center would be opening at 4 p.m. today and pre-treating of roads would begin at 6 p.m. “We have 60 spreaders, 40 snowplows and 1,500 tons of sand and de-icing material inside the city,” Reed said.
During the press conference, Atlanta Public Schools announced they would close on Tuesday and Wednesday.