[TimeStar] More storms in eastern U.S. 1-29-05

[TimeStar]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/01/29/winter.weather.ap/index.html

Ice storm shuts down Georgia roads
Hundreds of flights cancelled
Saturday, January 29, 2005 Posted: 12:36 PM EST (1736 GMT) 

 The ice storm left metro Atlanta roads a slippery mess. Officials were forced to shut down parts of several interstates in the Atlanta area.

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Freezing rain and sleet spread sheets of ice across parts of the Southeast on Saturday, shutting down sections of every interstate highway in the metro Atlanta area and canceling hundreds of airline flights.
Two traffic deaths appeared to be linked to the slippery pavement, said Trooper First Class Larry Schnall of the Georgia State Patrol.

Ice was a quarter-inch thick on downtown Atlanta streets as a storm system spread snow, freezing rain and sleet from the Midwest into Georgia and the Carolinas. South Carolina police warned of ice forming on bridges and North Carolina's Highway Patrol reported numerous accidents.

Throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area, wrecks led police to shut down sections of Interstates 85, 20, 75 and 285 and some other highways, said state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Karlene Barron.

Most morning flights were canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as crews worked to sand and salt runways and access roads, said airport spokeswoman Felicia Browder.

AirTran canceled 73 flights for the day, according to a news release. Delta was working to keep its aircraft outside the storm-affected areas, said spokesman Anthony Black.
Browder said most travelers were aware of the approaching inclement weather, so few people are stranded at the airport. "The airport is quiet, but we are open," she said.

In South Carolina, Delta, Northwest Airlines, U.S. Airways, and others canceled flights from Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and from Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

All of northern Georgia was under a winter storm warning and as much as a half-inch of ice was possible from Athens to Gainesville, the National Weather Service said.

The ice also accumulated on power lines and tree limbs, and more than 52,000 homes and business were blacked out around Georgia, according to Georgia Power and the Georgia Electric Membership Corp.


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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