Atlanta's "Rush Hour From Hell" Enters Second Day

"People ran out of medicine, a baby was born to a stranded mother and pleas for help flooded Twitter and Facebook as a region that rarely deals with ice and snow came to a screeching halt during a meteorological event that Wednesday morning was still icing points as far south as Brownsville, Tex.," report Kim Severson and Alan Blinder. "Although less than three inches of snow fell throughout the Atlanta region, the ice was crippling and its impact unanticipated." 

"As Atlanta’s traffic nightmare stretched into Day 2, state transportation officials advised drivers who made it home to stay there, and others who were at makeshift shelters to remain in place indefinitely as they continue to treat ice-coated roads," write Mike Morris and Andria Simmons in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Stranded tractor-trailers are preventing many of the area's highways from being cleared. "Tractor-trailers were advised not to enter Georgia at all," note Morris and Simmons. "If there isn’t already a tractor-trailer in Georgia, please stay out," said Karlene Barron, a spokeswoman for GDOT. "We cannot deal with any more."