Highs in 40s Today; on Sunday, sleet?

On Saturday, highs in 40s; on Sunday, sleet?

By ANDRIA SIMMONS, RHONDA COOK

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


After a frigid couple of nights in metro Atlanta, Saturday’s weather will be deceptively warmer —- with temperatures rising to the 40s -— but Sunday could bring sleet.

The Sunday forecast calls for “mostly a slight chance of rain with maybe some sleet in Atlanta,” said Robert Beasley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Friday morning lows around metro Atlanta were in the low teens, with wind chills as low as zero. Two west Georgia school systems, in Carroll and Haralson counties, canceled classes because of the biting cold. Daytime temperatures reached the low 30s.

The cold has been stretching homeless shelters to their limits.

The Atlanta Union Mission, which operates the largest shelter in the city, with space for more than 1,000 people, said it had to put cots and mats in the hallways to accommodate the number of people looking for warmth.

Grady Memorial Hospital treated no one for exposure or other weather-related problems, though there was an increase in the number of homeless people looking for shelter, hospital spokesman Sean Van Dorn said Friday afternoon.

Friday morning, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said no overnight weather-related deaths had been reported.

Frigid temperatures caused a water sprinkler pipe to burst Friday morning at the Studio 6 motel on 9955 Old Dogwood Road in Roswell. The water caused part of the roof to collapse, and six rooms were damaged, hotel staff said.

The motel sustained thousands of dollars in damage, said Rick Raymond, a front desk clerk. He added with a chuckle, “I guess there’ll be no bonuses this year.”

Assistant Chief Paul Piccirilli of the Roswell Fire Department said his firefighters responded to about two houses, two apartment buildings and two commercial buildings because of burst pipes. “I’m sure there’s a lot of departments that went on a lot of calls today,” he said.

Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Bobby Stewart said investigators were trying to determine if two house fires Friday were caused by people trying to keep warm.

“Definitely, the cold weather does play a part in some fires,” Stewart said. “If people are using space heaters, we try to encourage safety. Don’t put them close to furniture, and don’t put firewood close to things that may catch on fire.”

Looking ahead to the beginning of the week, partly cloudy skies are forecast for Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, with highs in the mid 40s. Another cold front is expected to arrive Tuesday. Chances of snow are “questionable” because there may not be enough moisture in the air, Beasley said.