For me, the day started like any other day. I headed to work after running through McDonald's to get my Egg White Delight. I knew they were predicting snow, but honestly didn't think it would happen since it feels like snow is part of Atlanta's weather forecast every winter day and it happens about 0.1% of the time.
I have a window in my office, so I was watching the weather happen. Around noon, the flurries started, the state sent home their employees, schools closed, and then the chaos started. After about an hour, it was snowing pretty heavily.
After a couple of hours, snow was accumulating near the building, but not out in the parking lot. I can see GA-400 and I-285 from my office. Both were parking lots by early afternoon.
About four hours after the snow started, it was accumulating in my office's parking lot.
That's my little black car second from the left.
There were still a handful of us in the office at this point. I knew I needed to get home, but I knew traffic was bad and I didn't want to sit on the road forever. I did what most people on the roads wanted to do. I had a cocktail.
I didn't drink the whole bottle. There was just enough left for one beverage. Yes, please.
I continued working for another hour and then decided it was time to call it a day. I packed up and walked to my car. The parking lot was pretty much a sheet of ice, so I walked very carefully.
Once I exited our office's parking lot, I knew I was in for a wild ride home. There were cars everywhere. Apparently the rules of the road do not apply when it's snowing. People were ignoring traffic lights, intersections, and lanes.
After sitting for about thirty minutes, I was about fifty feet from my office's entrance. I hadn't made a lot of progress. I thought about turning back, but it was wall-to-wall traffic in that direction, too. I finally made it through one intersection. After about thirty more minutes, I had made a little more progress and made it to another intersection.
I was going in the opposite direction of most other people, so I was actually moving. I felt horrible for the other people, but I kept driving. My vehicle is all-wheel-drive and sits a little higher since it's an SUV. It handled the snow and ice much better than a lot of the vehicles on the road. I didn't slide and I never lost traction.
After two hours, I made it to the Kroger near our house. Justin and I don't cook frequently, so we didn't have a lot of food and I knew we would be stuck at home for a few days. I grabbed some food and headed home. I felt very lucky and blessed since a lot of people had to spend the night in their vehicles or in a home with strangers.
I kept waiting for Justin to get home. He finally called me and said he didn't think he would be able to make it driving. The roads were too full with stranded vehicles. His car wasn't having any trouble, but there were vehicles stuck in intersections and they weren't moving anytime soon. He parked his car in a parking lot off Piedmont Road and called me to tell me where he was. I suggested he walk to the nearby MARTA station. The trains were still running and I felt confident I could pick him up from the station near our house.
He called me when he made it to the station and I headed to get him. The roads were still pretty full, but not nearly as bad as when I was driving home from work. Justin started walking home when he made it to the MARTA station near our house. I found him jogging down the side of the road, so I retrieved him and headed home.
I don't think I've ever been so happy to be at home with my husband. I was hearing horror stories about people stranded, so the fact that we were both home, safe, was a win.
The next day, our front yard was pretty much a winter wonderland.
We worked from home for the next two days. We headed out to get Justin's car on day three. The roads were pretty much clear by then, so we had no trouble getting to his car and getting home.
I went into the office on the fourth day. I couldn't take being cooped up at home any longer! Justin prefers to work from home, so he worked from home that fourth day, too.
By the weekend, most snow and ice were melted and we were back to our typical winter weather.
Prior to January 2014, the last time this happened in Atlanta was January 2011. Clearly, this doesn't happen a lot in the South!
It happened AGAIN two weeks later.
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