In Atlanta, Georgia this Tuesday, a snowfall which north-easterners would hesitate to even classify as a “storm” left thousands stranded on Atlanta highways. Many remained stranded until dawn Wednesday and possibly later. Cars and trucks were at a standstill for more than twenty-four hours, and many abandoned their vehicles on the side of the road in search of food, water, and shelter all as a result of two and a half cumulative inches of ice and snow. 99 school buses filled with kids were stuck overnight, while at least 2,000 other students spent the night at school. The National Guard was ordered to come in and clear the buses early Wednesday morning as a first priority, and they did so successfully.

Flurries began a little before noon on Tuesday and turned to ice shortly thereafter. In utter panic, everyone hit the road. Mayor Kasim Reed declared an official state of emergency at 5P.M. at which point the remainder of the business community, the government, and the schools all raced for the interstate to join the frenzy. However, it seemed most of Atlanta was already stuck there. As Reed stated and Governor Nathan Deal reiterated, “it’s like somebody blew a whistle and everyone decided to leave at the same time.” The rush made it impossible for salt trucks to get to the highways in time, which resulted in horrendous road conditions. At first traffic, allegedly, moved up to 20 mph, but soon after it stopped altogether. Across the state of Georgia as a whole, at least 1,200 accidents were reported.

While many blame this epidemic on the ill-preparedness of the government, both Reed and Deal took a strong defensive stance. Reed argued “We got 1 million people out of the city of Atlanta in about 12 hours,” though he admitted “We do take responsibility for having the business community, the government and the schools leave all at once.” Deal blamed faulty weather forecasts and claimed “Mother Nature has a mind of its own.” However, the National Weather Service claimed that weather predictions for the area were “spot on” and issued the first winter storm watch 21 hours before it started.

The snow, however, did not target Atlanta specifically. All across the Southeast, this mild storm managed to devastate millions- grounding flights, closing schools and highways, and causing at least a dozen deaths from traffic accidents. Impassable highways in Birmingham, Alabama led Rep. Mark Butler to compare the incident to a “zombie apocalypse.” This may sound extreme, but judging by the destruction caused by a seemingly minuscule amount of ice and snow, it’s hard to know if a few more inches would not have led people to start eating one another.