Atlanta “Paralyzed” By Ice Storm

As Atlanta struggles in the aftermath of a rare snow and ice storm, Twitter users are noting the similarity between today’s traffic photos and the opening scene of The Walking Dead.  Cable news stations have been running nonstop coverage including press conferences from the governor of Georgia and the mayor of Atlanta, both of whom are battling accusations of being caught flatfooted by the storm. From the New York Times:

Thousands of commuters were trapped in cars overnight on highways in the greater Atlanta area, hundreds of students remained inside dozens of schools Wednesday morning and at least 50 children spent the night on school buses because of an ice storm that is still gripping the deepest parts of the South. Although less than three inches of snow fell throughout the Atlanta region, the ice was crippling and its impact unanticipated. Hundreds of students spent the night in Atlanta schools, watched over by teachers, state patrol officers and the National Guard. Cindy Warner, a spokeswoman for the school system in Shelby County, Ala., said in an email early Wednesday that 26 schools housed about 1,500 students overnight. Three hundred adults stayed to monitor the children in the district, which is near Birmingham. With much of the region under a coat of ice and temperatures not expected to climb above freezing on Wednesday, it was not clear when those students or the thousands of commuters still stuck on Interstates and side roads would be able to make it home.

The Times also reports that stranded drivers last night slept on the floors of grocery stores and other businesses that stayed open to shelter customers.