With the snow gone and the black ice melted, the assessments of Snow Jam 2014 begin: What happened, who responded well, who didn’t, and why?
The Citizen interviewed public safety and public works officials from around the county on Monday to explain their part in the events that unfolded during the middle of the day on Jan. 28.
Unlike the winter storm that hit in 2011 and deposited significantly more ice on county roadways, the one last week came in the middle of the day and caught the school system, employers and many motorists by surprise and — in many cases —unprepared.
Temperatures dropped throughout the day Tuesday as the snow that began to fall shortly before noon continued and began to accumulate in the form of ice and slush. In all, Fayette received approximately 3 inches of snow that largely turned to ice on roadways by nightfall.
The National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Peachtree City issued the first of several statements related to the storm on Sunday, Jan. 26. The NWS at 3:12 p.m. Sunday issued a winter storm watch for south metro Atlanta and central Georgia. In the early morning hours of Jan. 27 the winter storm watch was extended north to all of metro Atlanta.
Later on Monday, at 3:22 p.m., NWS upgraded the watch to a winter storm warning for central Georgia and metro Atlanta, including Fayette County. And at 3:39 a.m. on Jan. 28 as the storm track projections moved further north, the warning was modified to include central Georgia and all of metro Atlanta.
Snow began to fall locally between 11 a.m. and noon on Jan. 28, with light flurries turning into snow showers by early afternoon. All the while temperatures which were already below freezing continued to fall.
Many motorists beginning in the early afternoon hours and extending through the day were witness to slow-going on county roads. For some that afternoon, it took two hours or more to travel from Fayetteville to Peachtree City, while for others trying to make it home from Atlanta, the number of hours it took to arrive at their doorstep was measured in double-digits.
Sheriff Barry Babb on Monday said that from 1 p.m. on Jan. 28 through 12 p.m. on Jan. 30 there were 75 traffic accidents, eight injury accidents, one entrapment, 71 motorists assisted and six vehicles abandoned.
Of those, the majority came during the first hours of the storm. During the 1-6 p.m. timeframe on Jan. 28 there were 59 accidents, five injury accidents, one entrapment, 10 motorists assisted and three abandoned vehicles.
Fayetteville Police Chief Scott Pitts said the city during the winter storm had 10 traffic accidents and one injury reported. While numerous roads across the city were icy, Pitts said the Ga. Highway 92 Connector on the city’s south side presented significant problems for motorists.
Tyrone Police Chief Brandon Perkins said his town had only two winter storm-related accidents.
“We were extremely fortunate here in Tyrone. We had only two reportable accidents related to the storm, both of which were very minor in nature. Our most problematic areas were on Briarwood Road between Laurelwood and Palmetto Road and Castlewood at the Coweta County line where the hill going in to Coweta was a sheet of ice and several cars got stuck, blocking the road,” Perkins said. “We did help several stranded motorists who found themselves slid off the road or broken down, but no damage was reported.”
In noting his advice for the next time Fayette is hit with a winter storm, Perkins had several suggestions for consideration.
“If you’re a boss, heed warnings and close your business or allow your employees to leave before it gets bad as things escalate quickly,” said Perkins. “If you must drive, go slow. If you find yourself on ice, stay off the brake and the gas. Use a lower gear and allow your vehicle to do the work. Check your tires and replace them when necessary. Slick tires and ice do not go together.”
Pitts agreed, adding that motorists should exercise extra caution when driving on icy roads.
“Safety and patience are the biggest factors,” Pitts said. “Give a lot more distance between you and the vehicle in front of you, and exercise patience.”
Reflecting on the traffic and safety-related aspects of the winter storm, Babb had only praise for the efforts of all those in public safety and the school system’s bus drivers. Babb, from a public safety standpoint, also reflected on what was learned from the rapidly developing storm.
“Everyone wanted to go home. We understand,” Babb said. “We learned from this crisis as everybody has. Expect the unexpected. I’m already rapidly moving forward with plans to be better prepared because we are not out of this winter yet.”
The Citizen asked the Peachtree City Police Department about the number of accidents it worked during the snowfall, but the department declined to provide that information.
Fayette County public schools closed early on Jan. 28. The school system ran 178 buses across Fayette County roads covering 21,000 miles. The single accident occurred when a vehicle, with its driver cited for DUI alcohol, slid into a bus after students had been dropped off at home.
Assessing the winter storm and its aftermath, Fayette County Public Works Director Phil Mallon said the county has two dedicated salt and sand trucks and four motor-graders, though one of those was in for maintenance. Mallon said public works employees worked two 12-hour shifts beginning Tuesday and ending Friday evening, adding that Fayette is fortunate to have several experienced drivers.
Accounting estimates for the county’s efforts on roadways, Mallon said crews worked continuous 12-hour shifts from noon on Tuesday through 6 p.m. on Friday, depositing 88 truckloads with 270 tons of sand and stone and 4 tons of salt. More than 500 equipment-hours were logged with a combination of county spreaders, motor-graders, back-hoe, pick-up trucks (mostly used as “pilot” vehicles for spreaders), skid steer, trailers and dump trucks for hauling stone from quarry, Mallon said.
“It was a difficult week for many people,” Mallon said. “I’m happy and proud of the job we did. I feel like we had good communications. We know the high-priority roads and we had good communication within the county and with the cities, 911, the sheriff’s office and the fire department giving good input on the conditions of roads around the county.”
Mallon said communication was also effective with the Ga. Dept. of Transportation which has a truck in Fayette, though that truck was initially deployed to the interstate before returning to Fayette County.
Mallon said public works is in the process of debriefing to assess which measures worked and which did not.
“We’re looking at what we can do better,” said Mallon. “Ultimately, we have to decide as a county if we want better resources and need to add additional equipment. That is up to the elected officials.”
Fayette County Administrator Steve Rapson on Wednesday afternoon issued a statement noting that, “Our Public Safety and Emergency Management folks did a great job coordinating this effort and our response. I’m told that all Fayette roads, though dangerous, are passable except Kite Lake Trail. (The) Ga. Dept. of Transportation has one truck operating on state highways. Our road department is monitoring county roads; the emergency operations center remains up and operational; Piedmont Fayette (Hospital) has its command center open and functioning; and fire and EMS is running below average call volumes at this time as a result of low traffic volumes.”
Rapson noted that sunlight was helping roads considerably and the remaining salt was being saved for the nighttime hours.
