Snow, Ice Grip Bartow County; Residents Told To Stay Home

CARTERSVILLE, GA — The winter weather that moved into Bartow County Tuesday and early Wednesday has left the area with dangerous travel conditions, and law enforcement and emergency personnel are strongly advising residents to stay home.

Bartow County EMS spokesperson Brad Cothran, who said numerous roads are icy and "hazardous," is pleading with the public to stay home and "let the road conditions get better before traveling into work."

"BCEMS and all other agencies have been extremely busy," he added. "We are continuing to have calls with people sick from the flu or other illnesses that we are handling so we ask, again, stay home and don’t add to the increased call volume by getting out until later this morning."

The weather forced the Cartersville City and Bartow County school systems to cancel classes for Wednesday, Jan. 17. Bartow County government offices, including the courthouse and other non-emergency operations, are also closed for the day.

The conditions that have gripped much of north Georgia propelled Gov. Nathan Deal to declare a state of emergency for 83 counties impacted by the weather. The state government will also remain closed for non-essential personnel for Thursday, Jan. 18 in these affected counties.

“Our top priority is to ensure the safety of Georgians and to allow the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to continue doing its job,” said Deal. “Due to yesterday’s winter weather and continued freezing temperatures, ice continues accumulating on our roadways. GDOT is responsible for the maintenance of more than 17,900 miles of state roads and interstates. Currently, there are more than 12,800 miles remaining to be cleared and treated. In light of this, I urge people to stay home, stay safe and remain off our roadways. We will continue monitoring the weather and will provide updates as necessary.”

Cartersville police said on its Facebook page that even if the roads look OK, motorists should not forget about the threat of black ice.

"Temperatures will keep things frozen for most of the morning," the department said. "If you can stay home, stay home, drink hot chocolate and Netflix binge. For those of you that can't we are out and about to help. Be careful."

Cartersville police spokesperson Lt. Mike Bettikofer added the roads are still icy in most spots and that while the sun is melting some of the slush, the temperatures is refreezing the precipitation.

The city of Cartersville said it will not be running residential or commercial garbage routes on Wednesday due to the icy road conditions.

"Residents can leave their cans out and we will run the routes as soon as it is deemed to be safe for our employees and trucks to be on the roads," the city added.

Bartow County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sgt. Jonathan Rogers said the agency has helped other departments with accidents and stranded vehicles. Most of the county's main roads are passable and the sunshine is helping conditions on secondary roads. However, the only areas of concerns are those shaded patches of roadways or bridges and overpasses, he notes.

"We have seen an increase in local traffic," Sgt. Rogers added. "The cold temperatures are a concern if anyone becomes stranded or crashes so we are responding to check on persons involved when these are reported."

While the threat of additional winter precipitation has passed, the bitterly cold temperatures that have settled in the area will stick around for the next several hours. The high temperature in Cartersville will top out at 25 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind chill values as low as 0 degrees, according to the National Weather Service's forecast. You should expect Wednesday's low temperature to hover around 15 degrees. Winds will be out of the northwest around 15 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 25 miles per hour.

Thursday's high will creep up to 41 degrees, and the low temperature will dip back down to 20 degrees.

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Image via Cartersville Police Department