Things promised to be different Tuesday, when another round of rain, sleet and freezing rain was expected to begin hitting the area.
That’s not necessarily because city and state officials are going to be better prepared – although they promised they would be – but because many people aren’t going to take a chance that they will get trapped again.
“Basically, everyone from the office is going to be working from home” on Tuesday, said Dakota Herrera as he left a car park in downtown Atlanta to go to his office Monday.
Atlanta has a long and painful history of being ill-equipped to deal with snowy weather. Despite officials’ promises following a crippling ice storm in 2011 that they would be better prepared next time, the storm that hit the area Jan. 28 proved they still had many kinks to work out.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal indicated Monday that he and other state officials had learned their lesson.
Before a single drop of freezing rain or snow fell, Deal declared a state of emergency for nearly a third of the state and state employees were told they could stay home if they felt conditions were too dangerous. Schools canceled classes, and Deal urged people who didn’t need to be anywhere to stay off the roads. Tractor-trailer drivers were handed fliers about the weather and a law requiring chains on tires in certain conditions.
“We are certainly ahead of the game this time, and that’s important,” Deal said. “We are trying to be ready, prepared and react as quickly as possible.”
That kind of reassurance was a hard sell with some.
“I’m not counting on it,” said Terri Herod, who bought a large bag of sand and a shovel at local hardware store. “I’ve been in Georgia on and off for 20 years. It’s usually the same scenario: not enough preparations and not enough equipment.”