Slick roadways, cold temperatures expected overnight

ATLANTA - The FOX 5 Storm Team has been tracking this unprecedented blast of winter weather across much of the country, include half of the Gulf Coast. And while that wintery precipitation is expected to stay well west and north of Georgia, the rain mixed with cold overnight could cause some early morning issues Tuesday.

It seems like it has been raining all weekend and Monday we are seeing another round of heavy rain move across the state. The snow, sleet and freezing rain is staying away, but it will get much colder on Monday night.

With falling temperatures Monday night, it is possible that residual water may freeze, creating isolated slick spots.

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The greatest risk for black ice forming will be along, north, and west of Interstate 85 although communities south and east of the highway could see some patchy spots as well.

In the upper elevations of north Georgia, some of the rain could changeover into light freezing rain, sleet, or even snow, but any accumulation would be very light. And with the temperatures expected to dip into the 20s, refreeze will also be an issue.

There will also be some extremely uncomfortable wind chills in the morning dipping down into the teens. 

Temperatures the next few days will be a wild ride going from the 40s to 60s on Thursday. The rain returns mid-week and will drop the mercury back into the 40s by Friday before the weekend warms back up to the 60s again.

The good news is the sun will come out for the first time in a while.

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said after consulting with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, he is directing all state offices to open two hours late on Tuesday.

"I encourage all school systems to monitor the situation closely and make decisions on any potential closures in coordination with their local emergency management officials," the governor wrote in a statement on Monday.

The Georgia Department of Transportation said they already had crews treating roads late Monday afternoon in northeast Georgia. Trucks will be out treating on bridges and roadways in Union, Towns, Lumpkin, White, and Dawson counties until dark.

The crews will then hit spots as needed overnight, but motorists are being asked to avoid unnecessary travel.

GDOT also warns drivers to aware of brine trucks and give proper distance.

The city of Atlanta has opened its warming center located at the old Ramada Hotel at 450 Capitol Avenue SE. It will open Monday at 11 p.m. and will remain open through 10 a.m. Wednesday.

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This latest bout of cold in Georgia is part of a larger system that brought snow, ice and plunging temperatures across the southern Plains and caused a power emergency in Texas stretched its frigid fingers down to the Gulf Coast.

Winter storm warnings blanketed most of Louisiana and Mississippi and extended into parts of Alabama, where forecasters warned of the possibility of ice storms in the northwest corner of the state, according to the FOX 5 Storm Team.

Low temperatures were expected to drop into the teens and even single digits in some places overnight and into Tuesday morning, with wind chills making it feel even colder.

Louisiana State Police said Monday morning on Facebook that they had investigated nearly 75 weather-related crashes in the previous 24 hours as a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain created treacherous conditions. As the weather continued to deteriorate across the state and with temperatures remaining at or below freezing, ice was accumulating on the roadways and troopers urged drivers to stay off the roads.

The state Department of Transportation said on Facebook that all state-maintained roads in East Baton Rouge Parish "have been deemed unsafe due to the ever-changing winter weather conditions."

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Interstate 10 was closed between Baton Rouge and Lafayette on Monday morning after multiple wrecks, including a 14-vehicle pileup, The Advocate reported. In that instance, one vehicle hit a guardrail and created a "domino effect" with other cars sliding into each other because they were unable to stop on the ice, but no one was injured, state police said.

State police spokesman Taylor Scrantz told the newspaper that troopers were having to deal with some drivers who tried to get around barricades to get onto the interstate.

Slick conditions also plagued Mississippi, where the state Department of Transportation was reporting ice on roads and bridges throughout much of the state. The agency posted photos and video of snowy interstates on Facebook and urged people to stay home so crews can work to clear the roads.

In north Alabama, authorities responded early Monday to a pileup involving at least 20 cars along a highway near Lacey’s Spring where dense fog and ice covered the roadway, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. No severe injuries were reported, the agency said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report