Good morning, Georgia! While most of you were wisely hunkered down avoiding the ice, we were out documenting Winter Storm Fern’s greatest hits. Spoiler alert: Mother Nature wasn’t bluffing this time, and neither was that guy who bought three backup generators at Costco.
Ice, Ice, Baby (It’s Everywhere)
Winter Storm Fern delivered the goods across northeast Georgia, with sixteen counties waking up to serious ice coverage Sunday morning. The heaviest action ran up Ga. 400, along I-85, and east toward Athens—basically anywhere you might have foolishly thought about driving. Hall, Clarke, Forsyth, and their frozen friends got the worst of it, while counties that usually see winter weather (looking at you, Rabun and Towns) somehow dodged the bullet entirely.
Check out our photo gallery of the icy carnage if you want to feel better about staying home.
The Roads Are Not Your Friend
State troopers handled 653 calls by noon Sunday , including 17 crashes and 76 motorist assists. And just to keep things interesting, Ga. 400 decided to add flooding to the mix south of Northridge, because ice alone wasn’t exciting enough.
Power Struggles
Georgia Power has restored electricity to 70,000 customers , which sounds impressive until you realize new outages keep popping up like a game of whack-a-mole. Ten thousand workers are out there trying to keep the lights on while dodging falling trees and freezing rain.
School’s Out (Obviously)
If you’re wondering whether your kid has school Monday, the answer is most likely no. School closures are rolling in across the state faster than Georgians cleared the bread aisle last week.
Everything Else Is Closed Too
Government offices, libraries, courts, and pretty much anything that requires you to leave your house is shut down through Monday .
The Sheriff’s Office Wins the Internet
While everyone else was posting serious weather updates, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office decided to have some fun . Their Facebook post addressed the important questions: Why are you asking us where the snow is? Why are you yelling at us about the weather? And most importantly: “Do not text your ex and ask, ‘wyd.'” Solid advice for any weather emergency, really.
Panic Buying Was Actually Neighborly Love?
On the humorous side of things. Humor columnist B.T. Clark has a different take on last week’s grocery store olympics. Is it possible your hoarding neighbors were actually thinking about the neighbors . The golden rule is alive and well in Georgia, as long as you define “love thy neighbor” as “make sure thy neighbor has no access to bread, milk, or eggs.”
UGA Mourns Former President
The University of Georgia is mourning the loss of former President Michael Adams , who died Sunday at 77 following a brief illness.
Legal Drama Continues
Attorney General Chris Carr is appealing the dismissal of RICO charges against 56 defendants in the “Cop City” case. A judge tossed the racketeering count in December.
The Bottom Line
Stay home. Stay warm. Don’t text your ex. And if you’re one of the people who bought enough supplies to open a convenience store, maybe consider sharing with Mrs. Henderson down the street. You know, the one you were definitely thinking about when you cleared out the bread aisle.
