E.T. Booth Middle School seventh-grader Shreyas Samuel, 12, son of Sampath and Sowmya Samuel of Woodstock, waits for his bus home as snow starts to fall on Thursday afternoon. The Cherokee County School District closed schools early on Thursday because of snow, with elementary and intermediate schools releasing students and staff at noon and middle and high schools following suit at 1 p.m.
Photo by Samantha Wilson
Photo by Samantha Wilson
As much as two inches was predicted to accumulate by this morning, according to the Cherokee Sheriff's Office Homeland Security and Emergency Management, which monitored the weather all day.
A Winter Weather Advisory was in effect through Thursday night, with concerns that freezing temperatures could lead to icy roads as temperatures today are forecast to only reach 29.
Reports of slick roads on Thursday afternoon led local officials to close some temporarily to allow for de-icing materials to be spread by the Department of Transportation.
"Our district is ready and waiting to make sure the roadways are safe for travel," said Kent Sager, district engineer at the DOT office in Cartersville.
The DOT had 60 trucks mounted and ready to go on Thursday, officials said, and if temperatures dipped below 25 by nightfall as predicted, calcium chloride would be added to the de-icing gravel and salt mixture.
Icy conditions were reported on Thursday evening on Interstate 575 at exit 16-B and at the Little River bridge, Highway 140/Reinhardt College Parkway, Highway 140/Hickory Flat Highway, Highway 20/Knox Bridge Highway, Highway 5 at Highway 372, Highway 108, Ball Ground Road, Lake Arrowhead Drive, Bells Ferry Road, East Cherokee Drive, Avery Road, Bascomb Carmel Road, Lower Scott Mill Road, Butterworth Road, Johnson Brady Road, Lower Burris Road and Old Federal Road.
Multiple traffic accidents have been reported, with the worst roads in Waleska and the surrounding area, according to county emergency officials.
A list of road closings is posted at www.cherokeega ema.org and being regularly updated.
Cherokee County School District officials on Thursday afternoon canceled classes for today.
All after-school programs, extra-curricular events and evening school classes scheduled for today have also been canceled.
On Wednesday, district officials afternoon announced plans to close schools early on Thursday in anticipation of the snow.
Elementary and intermediate schools closed at noon on Thursday, with middle and high schools shuttered at 1 p.m. The district ran bus routes home at those times.
All after-school programs, extra-curricular events and evening school classes scheduled for Thursday were cancelled by the district as well.
The district will decide today whether to cancel school-related events planned for the weekend. Updated information will be released through local media and posted on the district's Web site at www.cherokee.k12.ga.us.
Cherokee County government centers and offices were closed at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. A decision on whether to remain closed today had not been made as of Thursday evening. An information line at (770) 720-6363 will be updated when a decision is made.
Cherokee County court proceedings will not begin until 10:30 a.m. today. Office scheduled are unchanged.
The Cherokee County Health Department also closed its clinics early on Thursday - at noon - because of the wintry weather.
The Cherokee County Zoning Board of Appeals rescheduled its meeting on Thursday night to next Thursday, while the Woodstock Downtown Development Authority postponed meeting from Thursday night to Monday.
The forecast sent shoppers scurrying to local stores to stock up on everything from space heaters and batteries to milk and bread.
"We've picked up more than usual," Takayla Garrison, executive team leader with SuperTarget in Canton, said of traffic there on Thursday morning. "People are buying a combination, but mainly groceries."
The National Weather Service predicts that today will bring partly sunny skies and a high near 29 chilling to a low of 17 by evening with a slight chance of snow flurries.
The possibility of snow also is predicted for Saturday, when skies will be partly cloudy with a high near 33. Saturday night's forecast calls for a low of 17.
Temperatures will warm slightly on Sunday to 37, but dip further by nightfall to 16.
Sunshine on Monday will raise temperatures to 47 by day and 22 by night, and continue on Tuesday with highs of 48 and evening lows of 25.
Wednesday's temperatures could warm to 50.
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