Cobb black ice advisory

The National Weather Service has issued an advisory about the chance of black ice into Tuesday morning in much of north Georgia as temperatures are headed below freezing following rain on Monday.

Temperatures in metro Atlanta and Cobb County could dip into the low 20s Monday night, and highs on Tuesday are expected only to be in the mid-30s, according to the NWS in Atlanta.

Cobb County Government issued a statement late Monday afternoon saying all of its offices will open Tuesday on a delayed basis, starting at 10 a.m.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners zoning hearing will start at 10:30 a.m. instead of the usual 9 a.m. time.

The Cobb and Douglas Public Health drive-up vaccine service at Jim Miller Park will be closed Tuesday, as that’s an outdoor set-up.

The statement also said that Cobb DOT road crews will arrive early and inspect the roads, treating any ice areas, and pre-treating bridges.

The Cobb County School District and most private schools in the East Cobb area are on winter break this week. Annual CCSD staffers will be working remotely Tuesday, according to a message the school district issued late Monday afternoon.

The message said that employees whose jobs require them to be on-site will be contacted by their supervisor.

The chance of rain Monday night is 100 percent, with between a quarter and a half inch possible in some areas.

Tuesday’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies, but it will be cold, and low temperatures Tuesday night also will be in the mid-20s.

The weather will get warmer as the week goes on, into the 50s by Thursday, but also with rain and subfreezing temperatures in the forecast Thursday night.

 

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UPDATED, 4:30 P.M. This just in from Cobb schools:

In an effort to help parents and staff plan for tomorrow morning’s work and school schedule as early as possible, the Cobb County School District has delayed the start of school by 2 hours tomorrow, Tuesday, December 11th. The CCSD has reached this decision out of an abundance of caution and in order to align with the announcement from the Governor’s Office. We will continue to monitor conditions and reports from the National Weather Service throughout the evening.

Around noon today the National Weather Service in Atlanta issued an advisory about the possibility of black ice on the roads in North Georgia tonight and also into Tuesday morning.

Cobb County government is opening its offices late Tuesday morning (see note below), while Cobb schools say they’re monitoring road conditions and will make a decision by 5:30 Tuesday morning.

That includes Cobb County, as the culmination of continuing rain and temperatures around freezing or below could made conditions hazardous.

Temperatures are expected to drop into the high 20s or around freezing in most of the advisory area, and it won’t be much warmer throughout the rest of the state.

The chance for black ice is highest on secondary and untreated roads, as wells as on bridges, sidewalks and porches. Here’s more from the NWS advisory:

The threats for black ice and slick spots will diminish through the morning hours as temperatures are expected to warm through Tuesday afternoon to well above the freezing mark. Use caution and allow extra time to reach your destination if traveling late Tonight and Tuesday morning.

UPDATE, 3:40 P.M.: The Cobb County School District sent out this message a few minutes ago:

After a colder-than-normal but safe Monday across the district, we are aware of temperatures which may fall below freezing early Tuesday morning. We are in conversation with the National Weather Service and various agencies across the state of Georgia as we monitor for black ice and unsafe driving conditions. We will update you on our social media outlets throughout the evening and will inform you of a decision no later than 5:30 A.M.

At the same time, Cobb government issued this alert:

Due to the possibility of icy conditions on the roads early Tuesday, Cobb County government operations will delay opening until 9 a.m. Any employee who believes the roads are too treacherous to drive should contact their supervisor and delay their travel.

Cobb DOT crews will come in overnight to respond to any reports of icy conditions. If conditions deteriorate, the delayed opening may be changed. We will update the situation on cobbcounty.org and via email if necessary.

Around 2:30 p.m. Georgia DOT sent a message that it “will continue with brine operations in the northern counties that experienced snowfall. With the abundance of potential icy conditions expected, we will begin brine operations in Metro Atlanta tonight at 7 pm.”

Gov. Nathan Deal has delayed the opening of state government offices until 10 a.m. Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution.”

Right now its around 45 degrees in the East Cobb area, with light rain in some places. But temperatures are expected to drop to around 30, as the chance of rain falls from around 70 percent to 20 percent overnight.

On Tuesday, temperatures could reach 50 degrees and the sun is expected to return since the first time since the middle of last week.

Wednesday will be the same, and rain could return by Thursday night.

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