DeKalb County Georgia. Source: Google Maps.

Editor’s note: Due to a continuing stream of news about this weather event, some of the information in this story may be out of date. Decaturish has published a new story with more up to date information. To read it, click here.  

This story has been updated. 

City Schools of Decatur, Atlanta Public Schools and DeKalb County Public Schools are cancelling classes on Jan. 17 due to snow.

According to the current forecast from the National Weather Service, snow is likely Tuesday evening, Jan. 16. The Atlanta area could see up to one inch of snow.

Decatur Superintendent David Dude made the announcement about school closures during Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. He attended the meeting to speak in favor of rezoning for CSD’s future school on Talley Street. The rezoning was approved.

“Snow has started in South Fulton,” Dude announced. “Every single school district has called school off tomorrow.”

CSD followed up with an announcement on Facebook. The announcement also notes that tomorrow’s meeting on Decatur school attendance zones has been cancelled.

Weather update from City Schools of Decatur: Due to extreme temperatures and the risk of icy road conditions, City Schools of Decatur will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, January 17, 2018. All scheduled after school activities and events are canceled including the Elementary Boundary Community Meeting.

APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen made the announcement on Twitter:

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ARGH canceling school Wednesday Jan 17. Single digit temps & icy roads = unsafe 4 kids & staff. (I'm doing it bc I ❤️you! I do! But so 😭!) https://t.co/1hRExN9Pe3

— Meria Carstarphen (@CarstarphenMJ) January 17, 2018

Here’s the full announcement from APS:

Due to the impending inclement weather, including bitterly cold temperatures and the potential for icy road conditions throughout the metro Atlanta area and in coordination with city and state officials, the National Weather Service, and surrounding school districts, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) has cancelled school and all after school activities for Wednesday, Jan. 17. All APS campuses and the district office will be closed.

Parents, caregivers, and employees are encouraged to be mindful of road conditions and to exercise caution when traveling throughout the metro Atlanta area. APS takes the safety and security of all our students and staff very seriously. We will continue to monitor the weather forecast and will keep parents and staff updated via the APS website, robocalls, the media, and other communications channels on any potential weather impact on future school schedules.

For APS charter schools, parents, caregivers, and employees are encouraged to contact their schools directly for scheduling information.

DeKalb County Schools also made the announcement via social media:

Due to frigid temperatures, snow and icy conditions, all DCSD schools and administrative offices will be closed tomorrow, January 17, 2018. pic.twitter.com/b1wcORMRRK

— DeKalb Schools, GA (@DeKalbSchools) January 17, 2018

The city of Atlanta will be closed on Wednesday. More from the city:

City of Atlanta Government Offices and Municipal Court of Atlanta to Close on Wednesday, January 17, 2018

ATLANTA – The City of Atlanta announced today that government offices and the Municipal Court of Atlanta will be closed on Wednesday, January 17, 2018.  The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory and wind chill advisory for the City of Atlanta. About an inch of snow is expected in Fulton County along with gusty winds that will result in dangerous wind chills.

All essential and emergency personnel should report to work at their regularly-scheduled time. All non-essential employees should remain at home. If you have a question about whether or not you are an essential employee, please contact your manager.

DeKalb County government is closed for business as well. Here’s the full announcement provided by the county:

DECATUR, Ga. – Due to the snowy and frigid conditions in metro Atlanta, DeKalb County offices, libraries, senior centers and recreation centers will be closed Wednesday, Jan. 17.

Additionally, all DeKalb County courts, the office of the Clerk of Superior Court and Board of Equalization will be closed.

County employees who are required to maintain operations during the weather event should check with their supervisors for instructions.

The following warming stations are open until further notice:

• Fire Station 3, 100 N. Clarendon Ave., Avondale Estates, GA 30002
• Fire Station 6, 2342 Flat Shoals Road, Atlanta, GA 30316
• Fire Station 21, 1090 Crown Point Pkwy., Atlanta, GA 30338

Because extremely cold temperatures can cause frostbite and hypothermia in less than 30 minutes, residents are urged to limit time outdoors during cold and windy conditions.

County officials also share the following tips for winter weather safety:

• When going outside, wear layers of loose-fitting clothing and wear a hat, scarf and gloves to minimize skin exposure to the cold and wind.
• Exercise safety and use proper ventilation when using alternative heat sources, such as fireplaces and electric heaters. Do not use an oven to heat your house. Do not bring grills, generators, kerosene heaters and other outside heating devices inside to heat a home, as they emit poisonous carbon monoxide.
• If there is no heat, close off unneeded rooms, stuff towels in cracks under doors and cover windows at night.
• Keep pets inside and ensure their food and water is not frozen.
• Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses. Detaching the hose allows water to drain from the pipe. Otherwise, a hard freeze can burst either the faucet or the pipe.
• Insulate pipes or faucets in unheated areas. If there are pipelines in an unheated garage or cold crawl space under the house, wrap the water pipes before temperatures plummet. Find the house master water shutoff valve. It may be near the water heater or the washing machine. More likely, it’s where the water line comes into your house from the street. If a pipe bursts anywhere in the house, this valve turns it off.
• Leave a pencil-lead-thin stream of water flowing from a bathroom faucet during the worst of a cold spell. Running water has a lesser chance of freezing.
• If a pipe freezes, do not try to thaw it using a torch with an open flame. This is a fire hazard, and it could also melt pipe solder or burst the pipe. The safest tool is a hair dryer with a low heat setting. Wave the warm air back and forth along the pipe, not on one spot.

County residents are encouraged to sign up for DeKalb County’s high-speed emergency notification system, CodeRED, which can quickly deliver time-sensitive messages via voice, email, and text to targeted areas of the county during emergency situations. To sign up for CodeRED, follow this link, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov and click on the CodeRed icon at the bottom of the page.

Garbage collection in the county, which was already delayed by one day due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, has been pushed back one more day. Here’s the revised schedule, provided by the county:

DECATUR, Ga. – In anticipation of inclement weather and dangerous road conditions, the DeKalb County Sanitation Division has suspended all administrative and field operations for Wednesday, Jan. 17. Collection service for residential and commercial customers, transfer station operations, landfill operations and administrative services will resume on Thursday, Jan. 18, during normal operating hours, weather permitting.

Based on the revised holiday collection schedule for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, collection service for the remainder of this week will run two days late as follows:

Thursday, Jan. 18 – Tuesday customers to be serviced on Wednesday, Jan. 17, will now be serviced on Thursday, Jan. 18.

Friday, Jan. 19 – Wednesday customers to be serviced on Thursday, Jan. 18, will now be serviced on Friday, Jan. 19.

Saturday, Jan. 20 – Thursday customers to be serviced on Friday, Jan. 19, will now be serviced on Saturday, Jan. 20. Collection service for commercial customers will run one day late.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.

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