Some metro Atlanta roadways are becoming impassable, as an unexpectedly heavy snowball hit north Georgia on Friday.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is advising against any non-essential travel for the morning hours.
Here are the latest updates:
11:30 am: CobbLinc suspends Saturday service; Cobb DOT crews continuing to work on roadways
9:45 am: Cobb County DOT reports major roads are passable, but they ask motorists to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary. They indicate about 100 trees fell in the county overnight. Crews were in the process of clearing about 50 trees Saturday morning. As much as 7 inches of snow was reported in some parts of the county.
9:30 am: Trees or branches down, blocking lanes on I-20 westbound at H.E. Holmes Drive
9:15 am: Large pine tree down, blocking six or seven homes on Kramer Way, off of Murdock Road and Sewell Mill Road in East Cobb County.
8:40 am: Lane blocked on I-75 southbound at mile marker 300 in Bartow County
8 am: Roads blocked due to trees or branches down:
Georgia 92 at Macland Road in Paulding County
Georgia 92 at Baggett Circle in Paulding County
7:48 am: Tree reported down on I-285 northbound at Cascade Road, blocking two lanes.
7:45 am: MARTA says they are running a normal schedule for rail and bus service throughout their system, though they are monitoring conditions, and may make adjustments as necessary.
7:35 am: Tree down on ramp to I-85 northbound at Riverdale Road in Fulton County
Tree down, blocking Powder Springs Road at Hammond Woods Circle in Marietta
7:20 am:
7 am: Trees or branches down in the right lane of I-75 Southbound at Wade Green Road
6:30 am: Right lane of I-20 Eastbound at Post Road is blocked by a fallen tree
6:20 am: Roads blocked due to downed trees:
Georgia 140 at Landers Road in Cherokee County
US 411 northbound at Aubrey Road in Bartow County
US 41 northbound at Franklin Loop in Bartow County
US 41 southbound at Green Ridge Road in Bartow County
6 am: Roads blocked due to downed trees, according to Georgia Dept. of Transportation -
Georgia 61 at High Point Road in Douglas County
Georgia 92 at Indian Trail Drive in Douglas County
Georgia 120 Connector in Paulding County
Georgia 101 at Pleasant Grove Road in Paulding County
5:45 am SATURDAY -- Interstate highways are in passable condition. The left lane of I-20 west of Atlanta remains snow-to-slush-covered, while the right lanes are wet. All lanes of other metro area interstates are wet, with slick spots.
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9:53 pm -- Marietta officials say Whitlock Avenue at Whitlock Drive is closed due to a downed tree.
8:42 pm -- The DOT is beginning to plow snow from I-75, I-85 and the top end of I-285, and then will salt the roads to prevent more accumulation.
7:58 pm -- Carroll County officials are advising that travel is unsafe on local roads. Trees are leaning under the weight of ice and snow as well.
County officials advise, travel is unsafe throughout the County, here is an example of some of the conditions in East Carroll County near Hwy 166. Trees are starting to lean, could have more power outages very soon. pic.twitter.com/C4Ycx3brPu
— Carroll County, GA (@carrollcountyga) December 9, 2017
7:29 pm -- A fallen tree has blocked the I-575 ramp onto Bells Ferry Road in Cobb County, according to the DOT.
6:04 pm -- Westside Parkway from Webb Bridge Road to Old Milton Parkway is closed until further notice due to heavy ice, according to Alpharetta police.
Stay Home! Our latest update from the National Weather Service states this could be a historical event.
Public Works crews are working hard and we still expect a considerable amount of snow to fall. Please stay off the roads. Roadways could have issues through the weekend. pic.twitter.com/UZMXZTLmI9
— AlpharettaDPS (@AlpharettaDPS) December 9, 20176:01 pm -- Paulding County sheriffs say Highway 92 from Highway 120 to Due West Road isn't passable and traffic isn't moving.
5:56 pm -- The DOT said I-20 in both directions between the Alabama line and western suburbs of Atlanta is currently snow covered and treacherous. Travel is not recommended. A heavy burst of snow hit this area between 5-6 pm and created very poor driving conditions.
5 pm -- In an updated winter storm statement, the DOT said non-essential travel is not recommended in the overnight hours.
4 pm -- An Atlanta police cruiser was struck by a box truck at I-75 south at Moore's Mill while an officer was investigating an accident at that location. Another vehicle was also struck in the incident. The officer and a female from the other vehicle were both transported to Grady Hospital with complaints of pain.
4:15 pm -- Five Douglas County school buses with a total of eight students on board remain on the road. School officials expect everyone to be home within 30 minutes.
3:21 pm -- Three out of four lanes are blocked in an accident on I-20 west at MLK.
3:17 pm -- GDOT says all 76 northwest snow clearing crews are out in the field, treating highways and roads.
3:07 pm -- Virtually every metro Atlanta interstate and major roadway was jammed with early afternoon traffic on Friday, as north Georgia was hit with an unexpectedly heavy amount of snowfall.
"What we've seen is a typical, four-hour Atlanta rush hour crunched into about two hours," said Natalie Dale, spokesperson for the state DOT. "This has been a very compacted and tightened rush hour, but the interstates are in very good shape."
2:41 pm -- Icy conditions were affecting the exit ramp at I-285 east.
2:33 pm -- Average top-end perimeter speeds heading both ways were averaging 10 mph.
1:48 pm -- Cobb County Department of Transportation called in crews early and began treating trouble spots. The county DOT said that traffic began slowing to a crawl on many of the county’s roadways and crews manned trucks with salt to treat local roadways.
1:38 pm -- Cobb school board officials confirmed it has received reports of "a couple of buses that are reportedly having some difficulty with road conditions."
1:12 pm -- Douglas County school system confirms that several buses are stuck on hills because of snowy road conditions. "We have no buses in ditches, no buses overturned and there have been no accidents reported involving Douglas County School buses," said the system. "Our drivers are currently trying to navigate around a number of cars on the road that are stuck in ditches. We are using all of our resources, including chains to free the Douglas County school buses that are stuck."
12:48 pm -- A seven-car accident at SR 166 west at US 29 had all lanes blocked, with an expected clearing time of 12:49 pm.
11:24 am -- Six people, five of them children, were taken to the hospital after an accident involving a school bus on Friday morning. According to Atlanta police, the bus collided with a pickup truck on I-20 westbound and Boulevard SE.
Georgia DOT road maps resembled red, yellow and green holiday lights -- mostly red -- on Friday afternoon, as commuters left work early and parents and school buses took kids home.
The Georgia Department of Transportation continues advising motorists to monitor road conditions throughout north Georgia, as an unexpectedly heavy winter storm continues.
“Much colder weather is expected to tonight, and any residual moisture on the roadways will freeze,” said the DOT.
The National Weather Service is providing a link where residents can track their road temperatures to determine if freezing conditions exist. Check your road temperatures at this link.
In Atlanta, the DOT has 281 employees on call covering approximately 3,000 lane miles, with 20,000 tons of salt; 24,000 tons of gravel; 55 snow removal dump trucks and 140 employees working two shifts on hand.
Stay with 11Alive for the latest road conditions and traffic alerts.
