The Peach State is finally thawing out after snow ushered in a long stretch of freezing temperatures, but the defrost is leading to water problems across metro Atlanta.
Although Atlanta’s high crept just above freezing Sunday, Monday was the first time temps got above freezing since Friday night for some locations, especially in far northeast Georgia.
Afternoon highs are on their way into the mid- to upper 40s, and the forecast points to warmer conditions at least through next week.
But freezing conditions over the weekend led a pipe to burst and has contributed to water service being temporarily and intermittently unavailable for the entire Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where crews worked to make repairs Monday.
Just after 4 p.m., airport officials said in an update that staff were directing passengers to nearby facilities and other areas of the terminal because “restroom and water fountain availability” may be limited. A few hours earlier, officials stated the outage was only in the domestic atrium.
“(T)he water will be shut off intermittently throughout the day, so there should not be any permanent disruptions today,” airport spokesperson Alnissa Ruiz-Craig said.
In DeKalb County, a 12-inch water main broke near the intersection of Covington Highway and Wellborn Road on Monday. Crews finished the repairs by 5:15 p.m. and water pressure had been fully restored, with no reported outages. Residents and businesses might still see brown water and are encouraged to run the faucets to clear internal plumbing.
“Due to the frigid temperatures and aging infrastructure, there is a possibility this main break was caused by the weather,” county officials told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Bartow County Health Department remains closed until further notice because of “extensive water damage” from frozen and busted pipes over the weekend, officials said in an alert Monday.
And officials faulted the freeze-and-thaw cycle for an issue that closed the Smyrna Health Center until Tuesday morning.
“There was no damage done to the building,” a Cobb County spokesperson said, adding the repair work was complete and water was back on by midday Monday.
If you’re worried your pipes could burst, learn where your water shut-off valve is so you can turn it off and prevent flooding.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Despite the region’s thawing conditions, Georgia’s groundhog, Gen. Beauregard Lee, saw his shadow Monday morning in Jackson. According to Groundhog Day tradition, that means another six weeks of winter. His more famous counterpart, Punxsutawney Phil, also predicted more winter ahead from rural Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reported.
It still seemed like winter Monday morning. Windy conditions made the 20-degree temps feel more like the teens, the National Weather Service said.
But, “thankfully, this will be the coldest morning of the week,” NWS forecasters said. “By this afternoon, everyone can shed their winter jacket.”
By Tuesday, the region should be back to more seasonable temps as highs climb into the mid- to upper 50s. In fact, some locations could reach near 60 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
February’s average high in Atlanta is 58 degrees, according to Weather Service data.
Rain returns to the forecast Tuesday, too. Only widespread showers, no thunderstorms, are expected by the late afternoon or evening, forecasters say.
Another round of showers is projected Wednesday ahead of another cold front. But the incoming chill shouldn’t be anything like what we saw over the weekend, when much of northeast Georgia saw significant snow, even more than 7 inches just north of Athens, the NWS reports.
The extended freeze led to icy conditions on roads that caused crashes across the region. In Gwinnett County, icy roads led to a multivehicle pileup that caused an extended jam on I-985 Saturday afternoon.
Although Wednesday night temps are expected to fall below freezing, Thursday afternoon highs will climb back into the mid- to upper 40s.
“Once that passes through, it’ll be quiet weather for a little while,” the Weather Service said.
Highs should stay in the 50-degree range through the weekend.
“That’s closer to where we should be this time of year,” Monahan said.
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