Snow falling across north Georgia

DALTON, Ga. - A dusting of flurries turned into full-fledged flakes after the temperatures started falling in the northwest Georgia town of Dalton Tuesday afternoon. By Tuesday afternoon, a light blanket of snow covered the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, leaving some folks wondering what the roads will look like overnight and how drivers will handle black ice that surfaces by Wednesday morning.

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"Everyone needs to just slow down, take your time and get where you want to go safely. It's just not that serious and you'll get there if you take your time," Dalton native Debra Pourquoui told FOX 5's Portia Bruner.

Lots of folks hustled to finish up their grocery shopping before the snow arrived. But some were surprised to discover many essentials were already gone.

"We usually shop on Tuesdays, but we had to load up today and the cheap bread was already gone. We had to get the expensive stuff today," said Keith Duarte as he loaded up his car with several bags of groceries.

To avoid putting school buses on snowy roads, many school districts scheduled early dismissal or canceled classes--a decision that came much to the delight of Dalton fifth-grader Olivia Dale.

"I was happy because I knew that meant I was gonna stay with my papa Dale and we could go shopping and spend the $100 he gave me and I knew we'd have fun," Dale said with a big smile and her papa Dale standing by.

Further south, along Interstate 75 in Cobb County, crews were preparing the busy highway for the blast of winter weather. Efforts began early Tuesday morning.

Brine trucks have been treating roads for the potential for icy conditions. Each truck can treat about 20 miles of roadway per load. Transportation expert said it is actually cheaper to treat the roads ahead of potential winter weather than to react to it.

“We always plan for the worst and hope for the best,” said Bill Shelton, Cobb DOT Road Maintenance Division Manager.

Crew after crew set out bright and early to brine the roadways ahead of the predicted inclement weather. In all five trucks were out for hours at a time preparing for what may be coming down this evening.

“We started brining this morning, which is a pretreat. We're pretreating all of our bridges, all of our elevated structures, and right now we've completed bridges and we've transitioned to doing grade, steep grades, hills, with 5 percent or more incline. We will brine all the way up until it starts snowing,” said Shelton.

Cobb County DOT said they also have 13 crews on standby for Tuesday evening to begin once the snow moves into the area.

“And then we'll transition to our spreader trucks, spreading salt and gravel mix. And the mix will be determined by the amount of snow, how cold it is, and what the conditions are, and how well the brine does. The brine we think is the magic potion. It works way better than the salt and gravel mix,” said Shelton. “If we can save one accident, one injury, one life, then it's all worth it.”

Bartow County authorities said they are in a wait and see mode to see what happens in the weather. They are more concerned with the drop in temperature and have set up a warming shelter at a community center on Beavers Road.

Meanwhile, at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Delta is warning travelers to be aware of the potential impact this winter weather might have on their flights. The airline has waived certain fees for people who need to rebook Tuesday and Wednesday both to and from Atlanta. Delta officials also tell passengers to check their flight status on their website or app before heading to the airport.

West Georgia is also expected to be hit with some snow and possible ice. In Douglasville, temperatures were already dropping in Tuesday afternoon. A warming station is being set up at First United Methodist Church to assist those who may not have a warm place to stay until 8 a.m. Wednesday. Pets are allowed.

Douglas County also closed all of their parks at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, including all activity centers, aquatic centers, and counties libraries.

Further west in Carrollton, the Carroll County Public Works Department is ready to sand, salt, and clear their more than 1,100 miles of roadways in the 550 square mile county. While the state handles the major arteries, the county will still need to clear some of the secondary roadways. So, ten crews will be handling that overnight.

Carroll County was hit hard last snow storm by up to 10 inches, so they are hoping it’s not as bad this time.