Rush hour marred by ice-related wrecks

UNDATED - Rush hour was marred by ice-related wrecks around Gainesville and elsewhere in north Georgia Wednesday by black ice and a slight accumulation of snow that caught many off-guard.

Hall County Central Communications reported six weather-related accidents between 4:00 and 9:00 Wednesday morning but there were no injures. Most of them involved vehicles that slid off the road because of ice and snow:

Spout Springs Rd. at Capitola Farm Rd.

Two on Skits Mountain Rd.

Georgia Highways 52 and 365

Sloan Stephens Rd. at Mud Creek Rd.

Stringer Road near Old Cleveland Highway

Snow flurries were reported as far south as Gainesville and Atlanta but most of the accumulation was to the north of those areas. Northern Hall County and White County had enough snow to make for treacherous driving for a time, while up to an inch fell across the northern tier of counties with two inches reported in the higher elevations. (See separate story).

"We actually had about six crews out overnight, working in six different counties," state Department of Transportation spokesman Mark McKinnon said, "but really this is not what we would consider much of an event."