Atlanta is rather far south.
On the other hand, I believe it is at the highest elevation of any East Coast city. Hard to understand how they can be THIS totally unprepared.
1. They let everyone out at the same time 2. 2" of snow turned into solid ice 3. No one I know, and I've been around a while, can navigate successfully on solid ice. Atlanta is a southern city that rarely gets storms of this magnitude. Last one in 2011. I know, I was snowed in for 8 days. Previous to 2011, the last big one I remember was a huge ice storm in 97 or 98. Now why would a southern city spend untold millions to stock sand, salt and snowplows if they're only going to be used once every 5-6 years?
GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!!!!
We get a serious snow/ice storm that lasts two days every seven to ten years. Those tend to pop up expectantly. Otherwise, the winters are very tame. It would be foolish to invest a lot of money in road clearing machinery, snow tires/chains for use just two days every ten years.
It makes more sense to stay put in the office or stay at home when one knows it is coming. Also, it is hard to expect Southern drivers to become accustomed to such driving conditions with such infrequent foul weather. Those of use who are "imports" don't spin our tires or slam on the brakes like most people in these parts.
Let’s see..... people here do not know how to drive on these roads under black ice conditions; no one has snow tires on their cars because no one does ( Saturday it will be 60); It is not as if NYC or other cities do all that well under similar conditions, in fact the cities in the northeast have waaaay more equipment and really don’t do as well