Shrimp season opens with optimism

Georgia's largest seafood industry opened today, with shrimpers expecting more boats on the water this year. You won't want to call it a Rennaissance with the long-term decline that Georgia's shrimp industry has suffered, but this year shrimpers are more optimistic than in the past.

Fuel prices are down from last year. Department of Natural Resources surveys have shown above-average catches in the pre-season. And some shrimpers are returning to the water, since construction and other jobs on land have dried up in the recession.

Shrimpers have been in federal waters for weeks. Andy Amason sells them ice.

"Catch wise, they're having a decent year," Amason says. "They have so far."

Amason is one of those in the shrimping industry rolling with the changes. Shrimp boats need ice. And ice-maker Andy Amason is one to give it to them. His workplace is a 25-degree freezer filled with rows and rows of torso-high ice-blocks in McIntosh County.

"They pull up to a dock at their packing house," Amason says "We back up with our truck and we take the blocks and slide them off the truck into the blower. It turns the block into snow."

Amason's grand-father started the ice business in the 1940's and for many decades, the family also processed seafood: crabs, shrimp and whelk. But in the 1980's, the seafood business started to decline and Amason noticed an interesting niche in the ice business.

"We occasionally got calls for ice sculptures," Amason says. "I didn't really know anything about the ice carving business, but what I found was that there are a lot of nice resorts in the area that we can serve."

Amason quit processing seafood in the 1990's and today his business is just ice. Only about 40% of it is for shrimp boats anymore. Most of his business these days is ice sculptures for special events. Amason uses molds, lumber-saws and drill bits wired to computers to make his icy shapes and cut names and logos into window-clear ice.

Amason's is far from the only shrimp business to make a move away from shrimp into something else. Over the past 30 years, the industry has declined by about 80%, mostly because of foreign imports and the rising price of fuel. The recession is prompting some to return to shrimp since construction and other work has dried up and fuel is down from last year's peak. But Amason says, he sees the long-term decline continuing and believes he'll be the last Amason to work in ice.

"The funnest part of the business is the snow business, where we go and blow the snow on the ground," Amason says. "It's amazing how kids who grow up in South Georgia instinctively know how to make a snow ball and throw it and hit me in the head with it."

Shrimping in state waters usually lasts until the New Year. Last year's harvest was about two million pounds, worth about seven million dollars.

Audio: Andy Amason gives a tour of his business and explains how the ice is made and shaped. (Amason's business is called Snow South and he can be reached at 912-832-4437.)

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4 PM Power Outage Update

20,000 metro Atlantans and north Georgians are still without power right now after snow and ice damage yesterday and overnight. Hardest-hit are Jackson and Madison counties, where up to 7 inches of snow fell. At the height of the storm, approximately 45,000 customers were without power due mainly to the weight of snow and winds causing trees to fall on power lines. The Georgia Electric Membership Corporation has 70 crews working around the clock to restore power. It could take well into tonight to restore all power. Students in at least 50 school districts across central Georgia are enjoying a snow day.

State Recovers From Winter Weather

A Sunday full of snow, and an overnight of gusty winds across parts of Georgia have mixed to present Monday morning problems for parts of the state.

Officials with Georgia Power this morning tell GPB they still have about 28,000 customers without electricity as of 8am. The bulk of those outages are in the Athens-area, with strong winds causing numerous downed tree limbs onto power lines.

From the group of electric membership cooperatives in Georgia, serving four-million residents--they report about 29,000 customers without power. Along with outages in metro Atlanta, outages also are reported in middle and west Georgia. Georgia EMC says its biggest challenge involves extensive damage to a transmission line and two substations in Jackson and Madison Counties, which has impacted about 16,000 customers. Last evening, this area received nearly seven inches of snow, prompting repairs that could extend into early to late Monday evening.

The state Department of Transportation says they’ve been working through the night to handle trouble spots in Georgia when reports of icy patches on roads come in. Brian Gunter is with the DOT says about 100 trucks right now are on duty:

"Over the last 24 hours all over Georgia we've had over a 1,000 employees and 200 pieces of equipment just rolling around checking out the icy spots and laying down sand and salt."

There are dozens of county school system closings across Georgia, along with numerous private school and city school closures. The list of county school system closings as of 8:10 am:

Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Clarke, Clayton, Coweta, DeKalb, Dodge, Elbert, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hancock, Hart, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Pike, Putnam, Rockdale, Spalding, Taylor, Telfair, Troup, Twiggs, Upson, Walton, Wheeler, Wilkes.

People in Augusta Area Ask Where Did Snow Go

The wintry weather expected to hit the Augusta area on Sunday has practically turned into a non-event. Forecasters had issued a winter storm warning for the area, expecting snow and icy conditions, but that didn't happen after dry air moved into the storm system. Students in the area get a break, though, since some area school systems, such as Columbia County, had already cancelled classes for today. The Richmond County school system in Augusta, meanwhile, will start classes one hour late. Augusta State University will begin classes at 10 a.m., and Paine College will start two hours late.

Ga. Power: Snowstorms Cut Electricity to Over 40,000 (photos, video)

Snow falling on construction equipment in midtown Atlanta, at the uncompleted 14th St. bridge over the I-75/85 connector on Sunday, Mar. 1, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Metro Atlanta, and much of northeast, and southwest Georgia were blanketed with several inches of snow on Sunday that caused aggravation for many.

Georgia Power spokesman Jeff Wilson said the snowstorm cut electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses across a major arc of the state:

"We have about 42,000 customers statewide without power, about 30,000 of these are in the northeast part of the state - the Athens and the Winder areas. About 7,000 current outage in Metro Atlanta, and the rest scattered from Columbus to Rome."

Wilson says high winds and fallen trees are hampering repairs, and wasn’t able to estimate when power would be fully restored.

"Time lapse of March 1, 2009 Georgia snow. Video was taken from a security camera in Hiram, GA."
(Courtesy YouTube member: Zacwin)

The FAA says Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport had upwards of two-hour waits for some flights, and cancellations of others.

On the ground, the Georgia Department of Transportation says about a 1,000 people were working to clear roads.

Officials at the University of Georgia said Sunday they planned to delay classes on Monday until noon.

Six Flags amusement park, which had been scheduled for its spring opening on Saturday, remained closed all weekend, due to the snow and rainy weather.

Click here for the latest National Weather Service advisories.

Click here for more GPB News coverage and photos of the sudden stormy weather.

Rare Snow Blankets South as East Braces For Storm (Photos)

A powerful March snowstorm blanketed much of Alabama and then marched across Georgia on Sunday, forcing some flight cancellations in Atlanta as the East Coast braced for a potential pummeling.

Peachtree Ave., midtown Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, Mar. 1, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The weather service said winter storm warnings are in effect from northern Georgia and the Carolinas through the Mid-Atlantic states into New England.

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways canceled some Sunday flights and a Federal Aviation Administration Web site said flights to
Atlanta were experiencing average delays of nearly two hours.

AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said flights out of Atlanta into the Northeast may also be canceled Sunday night as the messy, developing storm took aim at walloping at wide swath of the East Coast up through Maine.

"I expect the Northeast will be hit pretty hard tonight so our expectations is that people flying into Washington, D.C., and Boston will need to call or check our Web site for possible cancellations," Hutcheson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Delta spokesman Brian Kruse said the airline is monitoring the weather and asking customers flying to, from or through Atlanta to call Delta or check its Web site for updates.

Georgia Tech students A.D. Barfield, Lily Manavi, and Candace Farr discuss the merits of their snowman. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Despite above-freezing temperatures, a heavy flurry of snow fell on downtown Atlanta, blanketing cars and creating slushy streets and sidewalks. It hadn't snowed in Atlanta for more than a year — the area received 1.4 inches of snow in January 2008, said Laura Griffith of the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ga.

I-75/85 connector, near 14th St. bridge construction. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Georgia transportation officials warned of potential icy conditions on roadways in middle and northern counties through Monday morning. No icing on roadways, bridges or other overpasses had been reported through midday Sunday, but as temperatures drop Sunday night, officials warn motorists that ice could be a threat.

Outside the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, Flori Kwon of Claremont, Calif. took pictures of her son Jake, 5, playing in the snow.

"He wants to make a snowman but I don't think there's enough snow," Kwon said while large snowflakes landed in her hair. "We're kind of surprised it's snowing."

The late Southern snowfall brought back memories of a large storm in 1993 that forecasters nicknamed the "Snowfall of the Century," affecting the region from Alabama to north of Washington, D.C. on March 13, 1993, Griffith said. In that storm, Atlanta received 4.2 inches of snow and 13 inches of snow fell on Birmingham, Ala.


Pedestrians and snowmen at an overpass in midtown Atlanta. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Meanwhile, tornado watches were in effect from northern Florida into coastal Georgia and southern South Carolina.

Crossing Peachtree Ave., in midtown Atlanta, as the snow blows around. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Despite above-freezing temperatures in downtown Atlanta, a heavy curtain of snow fell on cars and caused traffic accidents on slushy streets. The unusual weather prompted 26-year-old Jessi Prahl and Max DiPace to take their dog, Cooper, on a walk through snow-covered Piedmont Park in Atlanta.

Says Prahl: "You know us Southerners, we all freak out when it snows."

(AP)
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Send us your snow photos (in standard .jpg format), and we'll post the best ones here: dbender at gpb dot org (replace the "at" with @ and "Dot" with .)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of today's wintry weather.

Wintry Weather Heading Toward Augusta

The wintry weather moving across the state is making its way into eastern Georgia. A winter storm warning is in effect for the Augusta area, and includes Richland, Columbia, Lincoln and Thomson counties in Georgia, and much of neighboring South Carolina. The warning is in effect from 4 p.m. on Sunday until 7 a.m. on Monday.

Forecasters expect a mix of rain and snow to begin by 7 p.m. this evening in the area, then changing to snow by 9 p.m. Some of the snow could be heavy for a brief period before midnight, tapering off by early Monday morning. Forecasters are expecting 2-4 inches of snow between the Augusta area and central South Carolina, with the heavier snow to likely fall north of Augusta. Freezing temperatures could make roads slippery on Monday morning.

Columbia County schools in eastern Georgia have cancelled classes for Monday. Central office staff will report to work by 10 a.m., or as road conditions permit, according to the superintendent, Charles Nagle.

NWS Snow Updates, Photos

Click on the image for more local details. (National Weather Service)

A steady snow has been falling across metro Atlanta, as well as other areas in the west and north of the state, through most of the afternoonaccording to the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City:

...MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTH AND
CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...

.AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL TRACK ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN
GEORGIA THROUGH THIS EVENING. PRECIPITATION HAS CHANGED FROM RAIN
TO A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW TO ALL SNOW ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA
AS COLD AIR ALOFT FILTERED IN FROM THE WEST. ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2
INCHES ARE ALREADY ON THE GROUND IN THE WARNED AREAS:

FORSYTH-HALL-BANKS-JACKSON-MADISON-COBB-NORTH FULTON-GWINNETT-
BARROW-CLARKE-OCONEE-OGLETHORPE-WILKES-CARROLL-DOUGLAS-
SOUTH FULTON-DEKALB-ROCKDALE-WALTON-NEWTON-MORGAN-GREENE-
TALIAFERRO-HEARD-COWETA-FAYETTE-CLAYTON-SPALDING-HENRY-BUTTS-
JASPER-PUTNAM-TROUP-MERIWETHER-PIKE-UPSON-LAMAR-MONROE-HARRIS-
TALBOT-MUSCOGEE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...GAINESVILLE...MARIETTA...ATLANTA...
LAWRENCEVILLE...ATHENS...CARROLLTON...DOUGLASVILLE...EAST POINT... DECATUR...CONYERS...COVINGTON...NEWNAN...PEACHTREE CITY... GRIFFIN...COLUMBUS

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT FOR AREAS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CARROLLTON TO GAINESVILLE AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM COLUMBUS TO WASHINGTON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

AT THIS TIME...ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE TO 2 INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WINTER STORM WARNING AREA...WITH A TOTAL ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 4 INCHES EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THIS EVENING.

PERSONS IN THE ADVISORY AREA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST CONDITIONS AND FORECASTS ON TELEVISION... RADIO...THE INTERNET OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO. IF THE STORM SYSTEM OR COLD AIR INTENSIFIES FURTHER...A WINTER STORM WARNING MAY BE ISSUED FOR PARTS OF THE AREA.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW... SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING AND WILL CAUSE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. TRAVEL SHOULD BE AVOIDED.


Snow over midtown Atlanta at noon on Sunday, Mar. 1, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Send us your snow photos (in standard .jpg format), and we'll post the best ones here: dbender at gpb dot org (replace the "at" with @ and Dot with .)
(Photo: Dave Bender)

Forecast: Rain, Wind & Snow Expected

Click on the map for county-by-county forecasts. (National Weather Service)

The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City reports that large swaths of Tennessee and Alabama are getting hit with snow flurries, heavy rain and storm advisories, Sunday morning.

Rain and possible snow are expected to sweep through much of Georgia in the latter part of Sunday, Mar. 1, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Snow flurries were reported in Columbus and other parts of southwest Georgia by noon, although it did not stick to the ground.

From the National Weather Service:

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA.

DAY ONE: TODAY AND TONIGHT
WINTER WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTH AND MUCH OF CENTRAL GEORGIA
TODAY.

SYNOPSIS:
LOW PRESSURE OVER CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING WILL MOVE OFF THE
GEORGIA COAST LATER TODAY. COLD ARCTIC AIR WILL BUILD INTO THE
STATE TODAY AS STRONG HIGH PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY.

PRIMARY HAZARDS:
THE PRIMARY HAZARD TODAY WILL BE SNOW...POSSIBLY ACCUMULATING TO
ONE INCH OVER MUCH OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. WINDS WILL ALSO
BE STRONG AND GUSTY FROM THE NORTHWEST.

DISCUSSION:
COLD AIR WILL PUSH INTO NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA TODAY AS HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE AREA. MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG
UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL SPREAD OVER THE AREA. THIS COULD PRODUCE SNOW
ACCUMULATING TO UP TO ONE INCH OVER MUCH OF NORTH AND CENTRAL
GEORGIA TODAY INTO THIS EVENING.

A hazy, rainy skyline over midtown Atlanta, Sunday morning, Mar. 1, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

This report will be updated throughout the day as fresh information come in.

Weather Forces School Closings in North Georgia

The combination of light snow, some icy roads, and cold temperatures has prompted some north Georgia county school officials to cancel classes for students today.

There will be no school Tuesday for students in Fannin, Gilmer, Towns, Union, and Whitfield county schools. There is also no class today for students of Dalton Public Schools.

High temperatures across the state expected only in the low 30s north, to upper 40s in southern Georgia.

Snow Likely for North Georgia

Cold weather is blanketing the state and snow is likely tonight in North Georgia. The National Weather Service says areas above 2,000 feet could get up to two inches of snow overnight. And much of the northern part of the state is likely to get at least a dusting. Flurries could extend as far south as Atlanta. You can link to the National Weather Radar to the right of this page.

(Associated Press)

Snow Far, Snow Good At Stone Mountain

Slip sliding away on the tubing run at Snow Mountain Park. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Residents of Atlanta are not accustomed to snowy winters. But now anybody in the area who wants a day of snow play can head to Stone Mountain Park.

The park has opened its first "Snow Mountain Park," with three football fields of snow, a 400-foot hill with 11 tubing runs and a 30,0000-square-foot play area.

The attraction uses water from Stone Mountain Lake that is filtered and then turned into snow using the same types of snowmaking machines that ski resorts use. As the snow melts, it drains back to Stone Mountain Lake.

The snow park opened Dec. 31 and is scheduled to remain open weekends through March 1.

The controversial attraction was canceled last year when critics balked at the event in the midst of a crushing drought in the state.

The Park had begun making the artificial snow mountain on the same day Governor Sonny Perdue urged Georgians to take “shorter showers” to conserve water.

(AP)

Radar snafus at Hartsfield cause delays

Federal Aviation Administration officials say a brief outage of the ground radar at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday caused delays of about an hour on arriving and departing flights. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the radar that allows air traffic controllers to see planes on the runways went down about 10:25 a.m. Bergen said the radar started working again about 11:10 a.m. The equipment failure coupled with low-sitting clouds meant many flights were delayed at the world's busiest airport. According to the FAA Web site, flights to Chicago experienced delays of up to 2 hours because of snow and ice there.

(Associated Press)

Winter weather closes some north Georgia schools

Snow was falling in some areas of northern-most Georgia this morning. Because of that, two school systems called-off classes for today--students in Fannin and Rabun counties get another day-off to extend their Thanksgiving holiday break.

The National Weather Service says there is a winter weather advisory in effect until 1am Tuesday morning for 10 northeast Georgia mountain counties. Forecasters say there could be snow accumulations of up to two inches for elevations above 2,500 feet.

Snow coming to Stone Mountain Park

Snow Mountain finally will get its premiere at Stone Mountain Park.

The controversial attraction was canceled last year when critics balked at the event in the midst of a crushing drought in the state.

This year, organizers say they are using borrowed water from Stone Mountain Lake that does not tap into city water.

(Associated Press)

Georgia sports for Thursday, April 10th

The Masters tournament is underway today from Augusta. The first grouping teed-off at 8am. Defending champion Zach Johnson was scheduled to start at 10:23 this morning. Tiger Woods is aiming for a 5th win at the Masters--he was set to begin at 10:45.

Another tough night for the Atlanta Braves on the road, as the club sustained its third staright loss, 12-6 to the Rockies in Colorado. A bumpy first start of the season for pitcher Chuck James in taking the loss. The Braves and Rockies hope to close their 4-game series today, weather permitting. Temperatures in the 30's, with wind and snow is forecast. Before Wednesday's game, the Braves placed closer Rafael Soriano on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow tendinitis.

From college baseball Wednesday, the first meeting of the season between rivals Georgia and Georgia Tech. The win goes to the Yellow Jackets of Tech, 9-4.

Flurries Now, Possible Freeze Later

Snow flurries brushed Northwest Georgia from metro Atlanta to the Tennessee border. The mercury is expected to drop lower overnight. As a precaution, the National Weather Service issued freeze warnings for most of the state.

Farmers will be closely watching their thermostat. Freezing temperatures can seriously damage crops. Last year’s Easter freeze destroyed about two hundred fifty million dollars worth of pecans, peaches and blueberries, among other crops.

Today’s snow came to Northwest Georgia during lunchtime. Small white flakes zipped on the roadways, melting on contact. Summerville resident Brad Montgomery described the flutters as a welcome distraction during a busy day.

“I love snow. It’s beautiful. I didn't think it was going to snow today, it was cool, but it’s coming down pretty good.”

More light snow is possible tomorrow. Cold temperatures are expected to continue through the week, with possible rain showers for North Georgia this Wednesday.

Safety board chief: Blast likely was preventable

The head of a federal safety agency said today that proper house-keeping probably would have prevented the deadly explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery near Savannah last month.

U.S. Chemical Safety Board Executive William Wright told Congress that reports indicated snow-like accumulations of dust at the refinery, where an explosion killed twelve people. Sugar dust is the suspected cause. Imperial Sugar C.E.O. John Sheptor says, it's still too early to draw conclusions.

"The Port Wentworth facility has had a comprehensive house-keeping program," Sheptor says. "The investigation is ongoing."

Democrats are calling for new regulations on industrial dust, while the Bush administration, business groups and Savannah Republican Jack Kingston are pushing a go-slow approach. Sheptor says, if the new rules are to learn from the Port Wentworth disaster, they should wait for an official cause.

Fed official: Lack of 'housekeeping' to blame for refinery blast

Simple housekeeping of industrial dust could have prevented the deadly explosion at a sugar refinery near Savannah--that from the head of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. The official says "snow-like accumulations" of dust built up at the Port Wentworth plant, leading to the February 7th explosion that killed 12 people and injured dozens more.

The official says factors that led to this accident fit in line with a pattern of similar incidents in recent years--all of which were preventable.

Bomb threat makeup days considered in Augusta

School officials in eastern Georgia are fed up with a rash of bomb threats this year.

The threats and resulting evacuations often cost money and class time, so much class time that students in Augusta may face an extended school year.

So, like makeup days for snow, they're considering recouping the lost class time by requiring students to stay in school longer during the school year.

Many of the the threats happen at middle schools.

Officials suspect that students make most of the threats.

They hope the makeup days would create peer pressure for the threats to stop, since the makeup days would cut into the students' summer vacation.

But some school board members are questioning whether extending the school year is the most appropriate and effective way to stop the problem, since a longer school year would mean an added cost to the school system.

They're also looking at other options, such as whether the drivers licenses of students caught making the threats can be removed, and if their parents can be fined.