East Cobb winter weather

Winter Wonderland in East Cobb: Latest closings, cancellations, outages as cleanup continues

by
East Cobb Winter Weather
Snowfall estimates in Cobb County range from two to eight inches, and freezing temperatures are in the Saturday night forecast.

UPDATED, 4:30 P.M. SATURDAY: 

Shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday, Cobb EMC indicated that around 16,000 customers were still without power combined in all of its five counties of service, with the following numbers of customers without power in the following East Cobb ZIP codes:

  • 30062: 1,624
  • 30066: 2,621
  • 30067: 536
  • 30068: 990
  • 30075: 1,620 (Cobb and Fulton)

In a Tweet sent out at 4:15 p.m., Cobb EMC said its hardest-hit areas that remained in East Cobb were along Lower Roswell Road, Little Willeo Road, Timber Ridge Road and Sandy Plains Road.

Here’s a Cobb EMC outage map to check for further updates.

Georgia Power doesn’t have a number of customers still needing power to be restored, and says it can’t give estimates on when the lights will go back on, but also has been updating an outage map.

Although temperatures have risen above freezing this afternoon, and combined with sunshine have caused some melting of snow, state and local officials are urging citizens to stay home for the rest of Saturday, since freezing temperatures will be in effect.

All of metro Atlanta and north Georgia has been subjected to downed trees and power lines, and work is underway to clear them.

At 3 p.m. Cobb government sent a message saying that the county DOT is undertaking tree removal tasks.

“Most main roads are considered to be in good shape,” the DOT message said, indicating that crews will be out again on Sunday “to make sure every road is open by the end of the weekend.”

Residents should report downed trees by calling Cobb County 911.

The Bethlehem Walk holiday event scheduled for 7-9 Saturday at Mountain View United Methodist Church has been cancelled, as it was on Friday.

SUNDAY CHURCH SERVICE UPDATES:

While some businesses—and especially restaurants—have decided to open today, at least for dinner service, many remain closed. The weather situation also is prompting some churches to call off or reschedule not only holiday events scheduled for the weekend, but also Sunday services. Here’s what we have thus far:

  • Piedmont Church will not be holding Sunday services after earlier cancelling its Christmas Festival that had been scheduled for Friday and Saturday;
  • Johnson Ferry Baptist Church has cancelled its Christmas Festival services that were scheduled for 4 and 7 today. The Sunday Christmas Festival services slated for 4 and 7 on Sunday are still on for now, and a service has been added for 7 p.m. Monday to make up for today’s cancellations. The 8:30 a.m. worship service and related Bible Studies or activities will be held on Sunday, but the 9:50 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. worship services and Bible Studies, and activities scheduled around them are still on;
  • Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is holding regular worship services Saturday and Sunday;
  • St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church is holding one combined service at 11:15 a.m. Church school classes and the 7:45 and 8:45 services are cancelled;
  • Mt. Zion United Methodist Church also is holding just one service Sunday, at 11 a.m.;
  • Catholic Church of St. Ann will have most regular Sunday services and events as scheduled, except for hospitality hour;
  • Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church will have an 11 a.m. service only at its Lower Roswell campus. Here’s more, per the church’s Facebook page: “Nursery will be available, but all Sunday school classes and breakfast are cancelled, and shuttles will not run. Carols for Christmas is still planned for 6pm. North Campus will hold its 10:30 service only. All other NC activities are cancelled.”

We’ve got other openings/closings/cancellations listed below that we posted earlier, with some additions.

Send us your photos and news!

  • Share your winter weather pictures, and we’ll post them, as well as business or other closings or cancellations. E-mail editor@eastcobbnews.com.

ORIGINAL REPORT, POSTED AT 11:37 A.M. SATURDAY:

By mid-morning Saturday, the sun was starting to sneak out in East Cobb, and some of Friday’s record snowfall was starting to melt away.

But citizens throughout metro Atlanta and north Georgia are being asked to stay off the roads if at all possible today as work crews travel to repair downed electrical lines and trees, restore power and prepare roads for sub-freezing temperatures tonight.

So you’re being asked to enjoy this holiday winter wonderland at home, at least for another day.

As was the case on Friday, many East Cobb businesses are closed, holiday and other events have been cancelled or postponed all day Saturday.

There are still some Georgia Power and Cobb EMC customers without power in East Cobb, although western and more northern portions of the county were harder hit.

Georgia Power has been posting most of the morning that it is not able to give estimated times for restoration of power. It is updating on its outage map.

Cobb EMC is reporting “high volume with our outage reporting channels,” and also is tracking via an outage map that is working intermittently.

More than 30,000 Cobb EMC customers in the county are without power, including an estimated 7,500 customers in the East Cobb area.

Of those East Cobb outages, around 3,200 have been reported in the 30066 ZIP Code of Northeast Cobb. Cobb EMC has asked for outside help from crews in middle Georgia and other parts of the state as it works to restore power.

Cobb EMC is asking those without power to call 770-429-2100. If the call volume is high (you’re likely to get a constant busy signal), e-mail your outage to memberservices@cobbemc.com. While you won’t get a reply, Cobb EMC said it is logging all e-mails.

Traffic accidents have been reported just about everywhere, with vehicles stranded beside roads, and the hazards of downed trees and power lines are widespread. Here’s what Cobb DOT issued right before 10 a.m. Saturday:

  • Major roads are mostly passable, but avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary;

  • Reports of 100 trees down countywide, crews are still in the process of clearing 50 of those;

  • Another 1.5 inches of snow fell overnight. Reports of 7+ inches in parts of the county are common.

Here’s another update from Cobb DOT, sent at 11:20 a.m.:

Cobb DOT crews working 12-hour shifts have kept most of the main roads passable, but the 911 center has taken hundreds of calls about trees down many blocking roads. Cobb DOT is calling in extra tree-cutting crews at noon to help PARKS crews already dealing with the increasing amount of calls.

Cobb residents that encounter trees blocking roadways or on power lines should report those locations to Cobb County 911.

“We’re hoping the sun stays out and the breeze helps clear the moisture off the roadways,” said Bill Shelton, Cobb County Road Maintenance Division Manager. “If the roads can dry up before temperatures drop back below freezing that would be the best-case scenario.”

Most of the main roads closed by downed trees had been reopened by 11 a.m., but other calls were coming in. Road sensors across the county were reporting temperatures several degrees above freezing.

Here’s else what we know, as of 10:30-11 a.m. or so, about what’s open and what’s not in East Cobb, and what’s been cancelled. Some of this information is obviously very fluid and subject to change. We’re getting e-mails and monitoring social media traffic for most of these items, so please let us know if we need to make a correction/update.

We will be posting significant updates at the top of this post if/when they become available:

CLOSED/CANCELLED

  • All Cobb public library branches, Cobb Linc service also will be out of operation;
  • Piedmont Church Christmas Festival is cancelled and is not being rescheduled;
  • All Upward Basketball games and pictures have been cancelled at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, as have today’s Christmas Festival services. They’re still on for Sunday at 4 and 7 and a 7 p.m. Monday service that’s been added;
  • Righteous Que restaurant is closed;
  • Montrose Animal Hospital is closed, Saturday appointments will be rescheduled starting Monday, dropoff for pets with boarding reservations accepted until 2 p.m. today around the back;
  • Chattahoochee Nature Center is closed all day;
  • All Saturday services at Transfiguration Catholic Church are cancelled, as well as the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass;
  • C’est Moi is closed all day Saturday.

OPENINGS/DELAYED STARTS

  • Loyal Q and Brew restaurant opening at 11 a.m. with limited staff on hand;
  • The WellStar East Cobb Urgent Care is open from noon to 7 p.m. today;
  • Simply Fresh Market is open from 12-4 today;
  • Chick-fil-A Lassiter is tentatively opening between 11:30 a.m. and noon with a limited menu;
  • Rose and Crown Tavern is closed for lunch and is tentatively planning to open for dinner service at 6 p.m.;
  • Seed, Stem Wine Bar and Drift are opening for dinner service at 5 p.m.;
  • Bradley’s Bar & Grill and Zeal Restaurant & Bar are both open Saturday;
  • Frankie’s Italian Restaurant on Roswell Road opened at 12 pm.;
  • WZ Tavern on Shallowford Road is open Saturday;
  • GTC Merchants Walk Cinema is open Saturday;
  • Both locations of Moxie Burger and La Novia Taqueria will be open until 8 p.m. Saturday;
  • Black Swan Tavern opening was delayed to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Some East Cobb social media postings to share below, illustrating the depth of the snow, and the danger of the ice underneath that will be freezing again tonight:

Didn’t see that one coming! Wow!! Consistent 9.5-10″ at my house❄☃⛄#snowday#snowpocalypse2017pic.twitter.com/bFtGsiwT5x — Peter Giles (@_WHSPrincipal) December 9, 2017

 

Send news of opening/closing/cancellations and photos of the snow near you to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!