The Cobb County School District announced right around 10 a.m. Friday that it will be releasing classes early today and cancelling all weekend activities, due to winter weather conditions.
The early release schedule is as follows:
- High schools, 11:30 a.m.;
- Middle schools, 12:30 p.m.;
- Elementary schools; 1:30 p.m.
In addition, all after-school programs are cancelled on Friday, as are extracurricular events scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
Those activities include ACT test sites at Cobb schools, which will be rescheduled.
Not long before Cobb announced early release times, Paulding County schools also announced they would be releasing early. Marietta, Bartow County, Douglas County and Cherokee County schools also were releasing students early.
Here’s what we have thus far for private school closings in East Cobb:
- Both campuses of Mt. Bethel Christian Academy will be releasing students at 12:30 p.m., although after-school programs will be operating. Extracurricular activities will operate at the discretion of the coach or sponsor;
- The Walker School is closed Friday for all classes and activities;
- Faith Lutheran School is releasing all students at 1:30 p.m. Friday;
- The Catholic Church of St. Ann preschool is releasing at 11:30 a.m.;
All Cobb County government facilities are closing at noon today, including all public library branches.
The closures also include The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road), and tonight’s Center Stage North performance of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” has been cancelled.
A few church-related items to share:
- The Piedmont Church (570 Piedmont Road) announced around 11 a.m. that its Christmas at Piedmont holiday festival is going on as scheduled from 5-9 tonight, and from 10-5 Saturday;
- Tonight’s Christmas concert at St. Andrew United Methodist Church (3455 Canton Road) is being postponed until Sunday at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow.
Send us your photos and news!
- Share your winter weather pictures, and we’ll post them! If you know of school, church, business or other closings or cancellations too! E-mail editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Cobb schools began as scheduled on Friday, although Cobb was placed in a winter storm warning area around 6 a.m. by the National Weather Service.
However, by mid-morning, what had been rain was turning into snow or snow mixed with rain, including some areas in East Cobb. Here’s a view of the football field at Lassiter High School, posted on the school’s Twitter feed:
Beautiful morning!!! pic.twitter.com/BTi7yOJLd8
— Lassiter Renaissance (@lassiterherenow) December 8, 2017
Temperatures in Cobb and metro Atlanta are expected to reach only into the high 30s on Friday, with freezing temperatures forecast for the evening and into overnight. Accumulated snowfall is expected to be less than in inch in most of Cobb, but more in northern and western parts of the county.
The winter storm advisory, which includes Cobb, Paulding, Douglas, Cherokee and Bartow in metro Atlanta and most of mountainous north Georgia, where 1-2 inches of snow has been forecast.
Winter weather has stretched across unexpected areas of the South, with snow falling in San Antonio and parts of Texas, before that storm front headed toward Georgia.
Temperatures aren’t expected to get much warmer in metro Atlanta over the weekend, with Saturday and Sunday highs in the low 40s. There is a 30 percent chance of snow on Saturday, with lows in the low 20s, but the sun also is expected to come out.
Sunday’s high will be around 40, with clear skies. Lows are expected in the low 20s.