City of Decatur Announces Closings for Today, Reports No Accidents or Loss of Power
Decatur Metro | January 29, 2014The city sent out this announcement this morning…
Decatur’s roads and sidewalks are ICY, so please stay where you are and avoid driving if at all possible. City crews treated roads overnight with salt and sand, but with the low tempatures refreezing occurred. If you decide to venture out for a walk today please be extremely careful, as sidewalks are more slippery than roads in many places around the city.
Today’s closings:
- Decatur Recreation Center is closed today
- Decatur Municipal Court is closed tonight. Please call to reschedule your hearing.
- City Hall is operating with very limited staff.
- The Design, Environment and Construction division of Public Works is closed today, as all staff that made it into work are focused on clearing roads, etc.
- Tonight’s Town Hall meeting (“Review of the 2014 General Assembly Legislative Session”) hosted by state Rep. Rahn Mayo, state Rep. Howard Mosby and state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver is cancelled. It will be rescheduled at a future date.
The good news is that there were no car accidents, no trees down and no loss of power in the City of Decatur last night. The few people who were stranded yesterday were able to make it home ok. Public safety personnel were able to do a number of winter weather welfare checks on seniors and other vulnerable residents. (And as a reminder, if you have a senior neighbor, please be neighborly and check on him or her today.)
If you need emergency assistance during this winter weather, please call the police non-emergency number at .
Please check www.theDecaturMinute.com later today for updates on the weather and possible closings tomorrow.
Latest from Decaturish
might as well go ahead and announce tomorrow’s closings as well, since today’s high temperature will have no practical affect on the icy roads, and Thursday’s high of ~40º isn’t expected until 5:00 p.m.
The sun and wind are melting snow on my street surprisingly quick given the temperature, so we may need to wait and see.
It will re-freeze overnight,.
yup. if the forecast holds true, we won’t have any meaningful melting that won’t refreeze until Friday.
No way should schools open tomorrow. Hell, they were closed for cold! There will be ice tomorrow in many places.
Did all school employees make it home yesterday?
Good question. If they live in the outer ‘burbs, maybe not. I also wonder if all children got picked up on time. It took me 1.5 hours to get home from work leaving at 12:45 PM. Folks who left later may not have made it to CSD schools until after dinner. Hopefully, friends and relatives positioned in Decatur were able to get the kids.
just received a robocall informing us CSD will be closed tomorrow.
there were simultaneous screams of elation and gnashing of teeth.
Ditto here.
So happy we have power. I still have bad memories of the 2000 ice storm which resulted in no power for 3+ days- THAT was no fun.
Excellent point. This mini-Snowpocalypse 2014 was a snowstorm, not an ice storm. Ice storms bring trees onto houses and vehicles and result in damage, power outages, and occasionally injuries and death. Not to mention are bad for the tree canopy.
Given our situation so far, things could be much worse.
One question: If Decatur doesn’t already have a contingency plan for situations like this (e.g. opening doors to people stuck on the road a la Home Depot), can we form one? Obviously, addressing the roads and sidewalks would be great, but also those stuck in odd traffic situations. Should a church, city hall, (insert here) be open? Or am I getting ahead of myself in assuming someone will be open? I know this doesn’t happen often, but the weather is getting crazier each year and it can’t hurt…
City of Decatur does have an emergency preparedness plan although I don’t remember a thing about it. Not sure at what point a shelter becomes available or where that/those shelter(s) are.
Do you think there were folks this time who could have used a shelter in Decatur? I know lots of folks stuck on interstates needed shelter but we’re not within easy walking distance of any interstate exits.
BTW, in my limited experience of having stayed in a shelter only once, for the blizzard of ’93, shelters are your last option. They keep you safe and hydrated and not much else. Sleeping in them is nearly impossible. If there’s any way to get a hotel room, or stay with friends, that’s infinitely preferable.
Lots of folks were stuck on the hills on Scott Blvd last night. I wonder if the YMCA or Westchester or Immediate Medical could serve as a shelter in the future. I was afraid we would have visitors sleeping on the floor last night.
Anyone know if the YMCA will be open later today?