South braces for ice storm

Emergency management workers hunkered down in Atlanta waiting to spring into action as rain ? and temperatures ? fell overnight, potentially leading to ?catastrophic? ice conditions that forecasters said could hit the region.

Already, Georgia Power was reporting more than 2,000 power outages early Wednesday throughout the state. Forecasters and officials said that number would probably grow throughout the day. In north Georgia, morning snow was falling. Other areas of the South, from Louisiana to South Carolina, and the Mid-Atlantic also were expected to get socked with a wintry mix of ice, snow and freezing rain.

Atlanta and the surrounding region dodged the first punch of a dangerous winter storm Tuesday, but forecasters warned that the second punch would likely bring a thick layer of ice and heavy winds that could knock out power to thousands and leave people stranded in their cold, dark homes for days. National Weather Service forecasters said in a memo early Tuesday that while a foot of snow could fall in some parts of the northeast Georgia mountains, ?it is the ice that will have the catastrophic impacts.?

Elected leaders and emergency management officials began warning people to stay off the roads, especially after two inches of snowfall caused an icy gridlock two weeks ago and left thousands stranded in vehicles overnight. It seemed many in the region around the state?s capital obliged as streets and highways were uncharacteristically unclogged Tuesday.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in a news conference at the Georgia Emergency Management Agency?s special operations center Tuesday evening implored people to get somewhere safe and stay there.