After a highly-anticipated weekend of snow, the winter storm set to hit the Metro-Atlanta area left an unimpressive amount of snow frozen to the ground. Instead of inches of snow piled high on front lawns, trees and roads, they all dawned sheets of ice. While the forecast predicted up to four-inches of snow, various weather stations proved inaccurate as a result of budget cuts from the Trump administration. Due to the promise of snow, Cobb County Schools, along with other neighboring counties, closed operations Monday, January 26.
“I felt great that I did not have to go to school because I needed a break. I could sleep for the entire time and catch up on a new TV show. I did not really think it was necessary for the schools to close because there was no real snow on the road. I’m glad that the power didn’t go out here as it did in other parts of the state because I would be bored,” magnet sophomore Kennedy Aldridge said.
After the chaos of the weekend winter storm, forecasts still predict the weather in North Georgia to continue recording freezing temperatures. During the days following the storm, temperatures plunged to depths as low as five degrees in North Georgia. Despite the drastic drop in temperatures, snow will fail to appear in the forecast in the near future. Ice accumulation, however, emerged as an important factor to keep an eye on. The weekend following the storm, news reports speculate ice may reach heights up to half-an-inch. This ice will affect roads and implore drivers to proceed with additional caution.
The inaccuracies of predictions in certain areas led social media users to question why the weather failed to pan out as expected. President Donald Trump notoriously stands with the efforts to reverse anti-climate change efforts, so to reinforce these beliefs, Trump cut funding for weather, climate and satellite programs. While Congress partially blocked his efforts, various weather satellites experienced decreased funding, which resulted in less reliability for the citizens affected by the snow and icefall in Georgia.
“I didn’t see any snow where I was, but I know there was some in some areas of the country. It felt good that school was closed, though, because I was a little bit behind and needed to catch up on my schoolwork. I don’t really think there is going to be snow over the weekend because they said there was a 100% chance and literally nothing ended up happening,” magnet sophomore Ceyda Sledge said.
Unlike Cobb County, areas of eastern Georgia continue to feel residual impacts from the snow and ice from the weekend. County operations remained stagnant as a result of snowfall in counties such as Dawson, Lumpkin and White. Freezing lows will continue in the southeast as the height of winter ensues.
