ATLANTA - The snow that began slowly piling up in Atlanta on Christmas made the world's busiest airport seem, well, rather idle... and the snow was causing problems on the city's streets as well as streets and roads elsewhere in north Georgia and in bordering states.
Most chairs lining waiting areas at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were empty. Restaurants were empty too. And the arrival and departure boards dotted around the cavernous terminals were awash with red ``canceled'' signs, as Delta Air Lines alone nixed 300 of the 800 flights set to depart Saturday from Atlanta.
But there was little frenzy. Most of the flights were canceled Friday, long before the first raindrop or snowflake touched down, so many didn't bother even showing up.
Those who did couldn't help but chuckle at the pre-emptive strike in Atlanta, which hadn't had measurable snow on Christmas since the 1880s.
``They canceled hundreds of flights and there hasn't even been a drop of rain,'' said Stephanie Palmer, who was killing time as a friend awaited a flight to Mali. ``This doesn't make sense.'' Snow didn't begin falling in Atlanta until Saturday afternoon.
Around the airport, there were joyous homecomings for the arrivals that didn't get canceled. Brandon Moore held his 4-year-old sister after getting off a 14-hour flight from Korea, where he teaches English.
``I heard about a lot of flights getting canceled, but I wasn't too worried,'' he said, as his family welcomed him. ``I'm just happy to be here.''
As the snow began falling, forecasters warned that road conditions across north Georgia could turn treacherous overnight if the wintry mix turned to patches of ice. Jena Passut, a 36-year-old magazine writer, fretted over when to drive from Florida through Georgia to her home in Virginia.
``I like a white Christmas as much as anyone,'' she said. ``But I don't want to drive in it.''
At the airport, Palmer and her friend Ibrahima Soumano patiently waited for his flight.
``I'm not used to this frenzy,'' said a winter-wary Palmer, who is from Wyoming. ``It's just really strange. You don't go into a frenzy about something until you get a major winter blizzard out there.''
Soumano, meanwhile, was counting his blessings.
``We are so lucky my flight hasn't been canceled,'' he said.
Palmer shot a glance his way. ``Yet.''
Fox 5 Atlanta was reporting Saturday night that snowfall totals across northeast Georgia included 7 inches in Suches, 6 in Blue Ridge and Blairsville, 5.5 inches in Hiawassee, 4 in Ellijay, and two inches in Dawsonville, Jasper and Cumming. Two-to-three inches were reported in Gainesville and Hall County.
(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)
Friday
April 26th, 2024
4:45PM
