Gridlock Guy: Musings from a traffic reporter’s first Atlanta winter storm

ATLANTA — Any mention of “snow” or “ice” puts north Georgia on edge and those frigid words have special meanings to traffic reporters. The relationship between winter and the roads is key to the Atlanta impact. 

My 11Alive traffic co-anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen hails from Maryland, worked her first two years as a reporter in Idaho, then switched into traffic at WINK in Fort Myers, Florida. She had never been a traffic reporter during a winter storm and had heard of Atlanta’s infamy in such events, but she came ready. 

“[Atlantans] claim to have the worst drivers in icy conditions. snowy conditions. So I was curious to see when an event came, what it was really like,” Cox-Rosen told me during a post-traffic shift debriefing over breakfast potatoes, something that has become a ritual of ours. She remembered how bad 2014’s Snowmageddon was here, as she watched from afar at the University of Miami. 

“I was confused because I didn’t report on traffic. I was in college. I just remember saying, ‘Oh, it’s snowed and everyone’s stuck. What?’ I didn’t realize it was ice.” 

Cox-Rosen had to study up on the effects of snow versus ice, in her preparations for anchoring traffic during this storm. In a worst-case scenario, large swaths of Atlanta could be unnavigable for days. She beefed up on the effects of brine and what drivers should do in an icy skid. 

Many of our 11Alive colleagues and her hulled up at the station, fearing roads would be too icy. Overnighting at work during a storm was nothing new for Cox-Rosen, as she covered several hurricanes in south Florida, including 2022’s Hurricane Ian, which flooded her TV station. She brought an air mattress and several days’ worth of supplies. “It was very cozy in some salesperson’s office, actually. I got a good night’s sleep.”

As a compliment to Atlantans, Cox-Rosen said she noticed a big difference from Florida. “In Florida, it’s very much, ‘I’m going to stay and protect my home. I’m never leaving. And I can handle a hurricane. I’m a Floridian.’ Here, people are humbled a little more by the ice.” And she thinks the failings of Snowmageddon had a lot to do with cautiousness. 

“I was genuinely really proud of Atlanta drivers for heeding the warnings of meteorologists, officials, [and] me and you telling them to stay off the roads, [and] GDOT.” And “I was really encouraged by that and just generally proud of people for protecting themselves, protecting their neighbors.” 

She did not know what to expect on the roads when the storm hit. Would the roads turn to a thick sheet of ice?

Cox-Rosen went on freeze patrol. She relentlessly scanned GDOT cameras, listened to field reporters, monitored county alerts, refreshed social media pages, and scoured the GDOT incident page. The ice never really hit the fan. She was prepared to rattle off thorough, constant reports – like my team and I had to do in 2014 – but she never really had to. While nervous at the prospect of another catastrophic Snowmageddon, she was battle ready. And, thankfully, she did not need to empty the arsenal. 

We will be ready the next time Old Man Winter threatens, too. Georgians – civilians, responders, and officials alike – get an “A” grade for this storm. Cox-Rosen deserves one, too. 

Doug Turnbull covers the traffic/transportation beat for 11Alive with Rachel Cox-Rosen. Watch their live reports from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 11Alive+. His Gridlock Guy column also appears on Sundays in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Subscribe to the weekly “Gridlock Guy” newsletter for the column here.