Georgia ice storm: School districts cancel weekend activities ahead of serious winter weather
As a major winter storm heads toward Georgia, many school districts in its path are canceling weekend activities out of caution.
An Ice Storm Warning will be in effect from 1 p.m. Saturday through 10 a.m. Monday for parts of north central and northeast Georgia, according to the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City.
The ice and winds could knock down power lines and trees, and create dangerous road conditions. Officials are warning residents to be prepared to be without power for a while.
Georgia public school districts adjusting schedules
While most school districts around the metro Atlanta area have not made a decision about classes on Monday, many have canceled or rescheduled weekend extracurriculars.
In Atlanta, Friday will remain as normal, but all weekend events, athletics, field trips, and other activities have been canceled.
Other school districts that have canceled scheduled weekend activities are below:
- Bartow County Schools
- Calhoun City Schools
- Cherokee County Schools
- Cobb County Schools
- DeKalb County Schools
- Douglas County Schools
- Fulton County Schools
- Hall County Schools
- Marietta City Schools
- Newton County Schools (including out-of-district athletic events on Saturday)
- Paulding County Schools
- Rockdale County Schools
Most of the district said they plan to update parents about additional cancellations by Sunday afternoon.
Colleges prepare for approaching winter storm
Georgia colleges were also getting ready for the possibly dangerous icy weather.
In Athens, the University of Georgia released a message encouraging its students to leave the residence halls for the weekend after their classes are done on Friday.
"Residence halls will remain open for students who choose to stay, but if there are power outages, water line breaks or other complications from the storm, University Housing may need to consolidate those who remain on campus into a limited number of temporary housing areas with emergency heat and meal services," the school said in a statement.
The school expects to give an update on Monday's classes over the weekend. You can learn more about UGA's response here.
Emory University announced that its campuses, including Oxford College, will be closed over the weekend. University employees should plan on working remotely.
On Thursday, the Atlanta University Center Consortium announced that it would be closing its campuses on Saturday and Sunday. This includes all campus activities and sporting events scheduled for the weekend.
The consortium includes Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College.
