UPDATED, 8 P.M. FRIDAY:
The National Weather Service has extended its winter storm warning that includes Cobb to 10 a.m. Saturday, as a second wave of snow and winter weather passed through metro Atlanta and north Georgia late Friday afternoon.
Cobb was expected to get between 2-4 inches of snow overall, but those amounts are likely to vary.
Roads in Cobb and elsewhere are becoming increasingly treacherous, as Cobb DOT, Georgia DOT and other crews work to brine roadways, bridges and overpasses overnight Friday. Temperatures have generally dropped below freezing in Cobb and Saturday’s high is expected to be only 40 degrees.
The chance of “black ice” is one of the major concerns, as well as the possibility of falling trees and reduced visibility on roads due to the unexpectedly heavy amounts of snow.
Cobb libraries will be closed on Saturday, after closing at noon on Friday along with other Cobb government offices and facilities.
The second blanket of snow came through metro Atlanta later Friday evening, behind early afternoon storms that prompted school, government, business and many other closures, and as commuters, buses and other vehicles created an early, messy rush hour.
Check the Georgia DOT 511 Navigator for updated conditions, including closures and accidents.
Georgia DOT is urging motorists to treat an intersection with traffic light outages as a four-way stop. They should also call 511 to report outages when they reach a safe destination.
Georgia Power and Cobb EMC were reporting scattered outages. As of 6:30 p.m., Cobb EMC reported that its outage reporting channels were down and they’re working to fix the problem.
Cobb EMC customers who have lost power can download an outage on the Cobb EMC app or call 770-429-2100. The web link still wasn’t working as of 7:30 p.m. but an link can be found here that will link to detailed outage information when it’s available online.
(At 9 p.m. Friday an East Cobb News reader called to say that the Cobb EMC power outage phone number was down, and had been down for about an hour.)
Most of the estimated 5,500 Cobb EMC customers without power as of 8 p.m. were in western and north Cobb, with outages also being reported in several parts of Northeast Cobb.
Georgia Power is asking its customers to consult its outage map but has indicated it is not able to estimate when power may restored to an affected area.
Some closings for Saturday to report are below. E-mail us at: editor@eastcobbnews.com with your news of closings, and any weather photos to share. We’ll keep updating as long as we’re in a pre-Christmas Winter Wonderland:
- Holy Trinity Lutheran Church has postponed Saturday’s Breakfast With Santa until next Saturday, Dec. 16, at 9 a.m.;
- All events/classes at Studio 348 for Women have been cancelled for Saturday;
- East Cobb Pediatrics will be closed Saturday;
- Club Pilates East Cobb is closed Saturday;
- St. Andrew UMC is postponing its Christmas concert to 6:30 p.m. Sunday (updating information below in this post about a 2 p.m. start);
- All parish activities at Transfiguration Catholic Church will be postponed until noon Saturday. The Saturday 9 a.m. Mass will be held if weather permits.
Original report, with some updates from earlier Friday afternoon:
We’re keeping an updated tab on East Cobb weather closings for Friday, with the announcements earlier today of the early release of Cobb schools and the closing of Cobb government at noon.
Here’s what Cobb DOT sent out around 1:15 p.m. Friday:
“With conditions on Cobb County roadways deteriorating faster than expected, Cobb County Department of Transportation called in crews early and began treating trouble spots. By 12:30 traffic slowed to a crawl on many of the county’s roadways and crews manned trucks with salt to head out to the worse areas.
“DOT’s Road Maintenance Division planned on running full shifts until 2 pm Saturday, concerning falling temperatures could cause icing. Some crews concentrated at areas around schools where Cobb’s Elementary Schools, the last to dismiss early, would send buses out at 1:30 pm.
“The division’s full complement of trucks, 15 vehicles in all, will run predetermined routes treating much of the county’s 2500 miles of roadways, including state highways.
“Traffic maps at cobbcommute.org showed many of the county’s thoroughfares either running very slow or at a standstill. Officials urged people not already on the roads to avoid going out until the system moves away.”
Temperatures in Cobb and metro Atlanta are staying around freezing all day, and will be plummeting below that by Friday evening.
Information about closings is coming via e-mail, social media posts and other sources. If you know of closings (schools, businesses, churches, organizations, etc.), and especially planned activities, please let us know and we’ll share it with the community. E-mail news, photos, etc. to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Related coverage:
- Cobb schools releasing early; county under winter storm warning
- Winter storm advisory issued for Cobb, north Georgia
Cobb schools are on early release, with the last phase elementary school students at 1:30 p.m. There will be NO extracurricular activities, including the ACT testing, which will be rescheduled
Most private schools in East Cobb are either under an early release or have closed.
Cobb government closed at 12 p.m., including libraries, which will be monitoring road conditions to determine whether to open on Saturday.
The Cobb government 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.
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.
Here are the latest updates about openings/closings for local businesses, organizations, churches (especially for holiday events):
- The Piedmont Church’s Christmas at Piedmont festival scheduled for 5-9 Friday has been cancelled; updates about Saturday’s 10-5 session will be posted on its Instagram account;
- Mt. Zion United Methodist Church has postponed its Breakfast With Santa, which was to have been from 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Saturday;
- All Fidelity bank branches were closing around noon Friday;
- The Lockheed-Georgia Credit Union also closed Friday around noon;
- 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;
- Friday’s Bethlehem Walk from 7-9 at Mountain View United Methodist Church is cancelled; the final session of the holiday event is still on for the same time on Saturday;
- At The Avenue East Cobb, carriage rides from 4-7 have been cancelled, but Santa Claus will be in the Santa Suite next to J. Jill for visitors and photos during that time;
- The Carols for Christmas program Friday at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has been cancelled. In its place will be a service at 6 p.m. Sunday
- East Cobb Pediatrics closed at 1 p.m. Friday;
- All J. Christopher’s locations closed before the normal 2 p.m. closing time;
- Olde Towne Athletic Club has closed and will delay Saturday opening until 12 p.m.;
- Chicago’s Steak & Seafood is closed Friday;
- Seed, Stem Wine Bar and Drift are closed Friday;
- The British Swim School of North Atlanta is cancelling Friday lessons and offering free makeup lessons;
- Book Exchange is closing early Friday, but an author open house is still scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday;
- Righteous Que is closing at 3 p.m. and is not accepting any more phone orders Friday;
- Johnson Ferry Baptist Church offices have closed for Friday, and all Friday activities are cancelled. As of 2 p.m. Friday, the Christmas Festival services at 4 and 7 Saturday and regular Sunday worship services are still scheduled;
- Big Peach Running Co. closed at 2 p.m. Friday and will update Saturday opening based on weather conditions;
- WellStar Medical Group offices closed by 2 p.m. Friday. All WellStar Urgent Care locations were closing at 3 p.m. and are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Saturday;
- All CobbLinc public transit services will be suspended at 8 p.m. Friday and will open Saturday, with service times TBA.
Cobb DOT is urging motorists not to get on the roads if they don’t have to. Conditions are deterioarating and crews will be working to treat the roads as the day continues. To monitor the latest conditions visit the Cobb Commute site.
