Many Southerners were caught by surprise by the snowstorm that struck across the Southeast in the middle of this week. The blizzard ended up trapping thousands of drivers in Georgia in a 15-hour traffic jam. Things got so bad that many were forced to sleep in their own cars and try to wait out both the traffic jam and the storm.
Temps fell to a blistering 14 degrees. In Monroe County, near Atlanta, drivers got stuck in a traffic jam due to winter conditions. The Atlanta area saw more than 2 inches of show. All of these winter conditions contributed to a traffic jam that was glacial at best.
Traveler Emma Worley told WSBTV that she was one of many drivers who got stuck. She had been driving home when she suddenly found that she couldn't move any farther. The path was blocked by cars not moving. It's something she said she's never experienced before.
Georgia Drivers Caught In Traffic Jam
"I haven't slept," Worley said. "I've never experienced anything like this my whole entire life." She ended up going 15 hours with "no food, no sleep, no nothing." Meanwhile, James Talabert and his girlfriend also got stuck on their way to Minnesota.
"We don't have anything to eat," Talabert said. "We only have water and we've been here since last night. It's kind of ridiculous." For Mark Coombs, a half-hour drive turned into a 15 hour experience in the traffic jam. However, Coombs accepted that it was just something that happens. He said growing up in the north prepared him. However, he said the response from officials is usually better there.
"It is what it is," Coombs said. "You go out in bad weather, you gotta deal with it."
Fortunately, things got moving eventually. But Georgia's Emergency Management Agency warned against driving after dark.
"A refreeze is likely again tonight once the sun goes down and any remnant water, snow and/or ice will refreeze overnight. Black Ice is possible for locations with snow/ice still on the ground, so as a safety precaution, please stay home and off the roads once the sun goes down,'" the agency wrote in an X post.
