Thank you to road crews, first responders

Published 2:45 pm Thursday, January 18, 2018

This has been a weird winter in Georgia. It’s actually been cold.

For almost two full days, temperatures in Troup County stayed below freezing. We’re used to the occasional freezing temperatures, but most of the time they’re gone by lunch time the following day. Not this time.

And snow? That’s something we’re only supposed to see on The Weather Channel when they show images from Buffalo, New York or somewhere in the Midwest.

Now, we’ve had two instances of snow in the last six weeks. The first bout of snow was what we usually see. It lasted a few hours and then it melted after the sun came back out.

This time was very different. Snow fell Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, and it didn’t melt all day Wednesday as temperatures stayed below freezing. As we’re writing this, snow is still all over the ground in Troup County, although much of it is expected to melt away as temperatures rise.

While many of us stayed at home Wednesday and part of the day Thursday, road crews were out in the cold laying down sand to ensure the safety of major roadways throughout LaGrange. The LaGrange Police Department, Troup County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia State Patrol were working wrecks and helping people with abandoned vehicles.

In LaGrange on Wednesday there were more than a dozen wrecks. GSP had also worked 21 accidents. Thankfully, at the time of writing this, none of those accidents involved serious injuries.

We also want to thank our subscribers for their understanding Thursday, as papers were not delivered due to the icy conditions on roadways. Thursday and Friday’s papers will be delivered Friday.

Based on data from the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Troup County received the brunt of the snow in Georgia. No area received more.

Considering the weather service was forecasting 0.1 inch of snow just 48 hours before the storm, we’d say city and county officials came together quickly to make it work. Give the weather service credit too. The forecast changed drastically over a few days, but they provided constant updates, which we shared as quickly as we could to try to get the word out. If there is any lingering snow and ice in your neighborhood when you read this, be cautious on the roads.

Thankfully, warmer temperatures are in our future. Of course, the way this winter is going, there could always be more snow on the way. Until then, let’s enjoy snow on our television — the way it’s meant to happen in the south.