Helicopters search for stranded Southern drivers

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By RAY HENRY and RUSS BYNUM

ATLANTA (AP) - Helicopters took to the skies Wednesday to search for stranded drivers while authorities on the ground worked to deliver food, water and gas - or a ride home - to people who were stuck on highways after a winter storm walloped the Deep South.

Students spent the night on buses or at schools, commuters abandoned their cars or idled in them all night and the highways turned into parking lots when the roads iced over.

It wasn't clear exactly how many people were still stranded on the roads a day after the storm paralyzed the region. And the timing of when things would clear and when the highways would thaw was also uncertain because temperatures were not expected to be above freezing.

"We literally would go 5 feet and sit for two hours," said Jessica Troy, who along with a co-worker spent more than 16 hours in her car before finally getting home late Wednesday morning.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140129/DABKLGGG2.html

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Traffic is at a standstill on the southbound lanes as the northbound side is a empty sheet of ice in Atlanta on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. After a rare snowstorm stopped Atlanta-area commuters in their tracks — forcing many to hunker down in their cars overnight or seek other shelter, the National Guard was sending military Humvees onto the city's snarled freeway system in an attempt to move stranded school buses and get food and water to students on them, Gov. Nathan Deal said early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ben Gray) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT

[bpj62]

1. Helicopters

for crying out loud we are talking 2 to 3 inches of snow. I know that Atlanta gets very little snow but they do get ice storms from time to time. Maybe next time people will listen to the weather report or take it more seriously. I live in Northern Virginia and I knew it was going to snow in Atlanta yesterday.

[RoccoR5955]

3. Heck, I live in NY.

Last Saturday we got 2 inches of snow, and the town and county plows weren't even out.
Here in the North, when it snows 2 inches on the local roads, we just deal with it, whether or not they plow.
The idea is to slow down, and be VERY careful. Not easy to do when everyone is in a hurry all the time.

[leftyohiolib]

2. did christie shut down another bridge ?

[geardaddy]

4. I'd rather have snow than ice

I hate ice storms.

[Ezlivin]

5. Many now promise to listen to weather reports instead of Rush and Hannity

"I didn't know that science could be so helpful," said one grateful motorist.

"Yeah," added a gruff, smoking man. "I thought it was a liberal scam."

[former9thward]

6. Except the weather reports were wrong.

Until a few hours before the storm they were forecasting "a light dusting." It was too late then.

[passiveporcupine]

7. I live in snow and ice country

And we use 4wD and/or studded tires here. Chains when it's bad enough before plows get to you. I doubt they have enough of those kinds of storms in Atlanta to justify using snow tires in the winter. No doubt they do have trouble driving on ice. Even with studded tires ice can be a crap shoot. I have front wheel drive, which can pull you out of a slide on packed snow, but nothing can pull you out of a slide on solid ice. I had my car start sliding down hill on ice, from a standstill, with studded tires on.