Stunning, Touching Images Emerge From Disastrous Snowstorm in Deep South

ATLANTA (TheBlaze/AP) -- A snowstorm caught Southerners off guard Tuesday, depositing ice and mere inches of snow, barely enough to qualify as a storm up North.

UNC's basketball team dealt with weather-related delays Tuesday, but not in the Triangle. https://t.co/hkaiIz7W3e pic.twitter.com/rfiwnk817Q

— WRALSportsFan (@WRALSportsFan) January 29, 2014

Winter storm brings 'once-in-decade' ice, snow to US south https://t.co/rrJ2Uy9b0t pic.twitter.com/o8eYjDWhLm

— Times of India (@timesofindia) January 29, 2014

And yet it was more than enough to paralyze Deep South cities such as Atlanta and Birmingham, and strand thousands of workers who tried to rush home early only to never make it home at all. Images posted to social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, captured some of the chaos.

Snow in Alabama: 17-car pile up in Riverchase near Hoover, Ala. south of Birmingham. pic.twitter.com/FDJCDqNBlw

— Jeff Poor (@jeff_poor) January 28, 2014

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said early Wednesday that the National Guard was sending military Humvees onto Atlanta's snarled freeway system in an attempt to move stranded school buses and get food and water to people.

Insane RT @wsbtv A viewer sent in this photo of stranded drivers taking shelter at a local @HomeDepot. #stormwatchon2 pic.twitter.com/gZZJU6AIaE

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) January 29, 2014

Georgia State Patrol troopers headed to schools where children were hunkered down early Wednesday after spending the night there, and transportation crews continued to treat roads and bring gas to motorists, Deal said.

This is what happens in the south when snow is in the forecast: pic.twitter.com/JdA7r428Jv

— CounterMoonbat (@CounterMoonbat) January 28, 2014

Around Atlanta, nearly all public entities and most businesses were shut down early Wednesday. Officials encouraged would-be motorists not to drive. City buses were not running, and some commuters who opted for rail service met new frustrations as they stood on platforms awaiting trains into the city center.

Overnight, the South saw fatal crashes and hundreds of fender-benders. Jackknifed 18-wheelers littered Interstate 65 in central Alabama. Ice shut down bridges on Florida's panhandle and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, one of the world's longest spans, in Louisiana.

Some commuters pleaded for help via cellphones while still holed up in their cars, while others trudged miles home, abandoning their vehicles outright.

Possibility of 1" of snow and ice, and this is the bread aisle. You've got to love living in the south! pic.twitter.com/t0HjTkEmt2

— Tab (@TabathaAtkins) January 5, 2014

Whoa! Snow causing major traffic headaches in #ATL. Watch LIVE cam: https://t.co/YKJEF9zKuE pic.twitter.com/Uved7pxidN

— NBC Charlotte (@wcnc) January 29, 2014

Atlanta, hub to major corporations and the world's busiest airport, once again found itself unprepared to deal with the chaos - despite assurances that city officials had learned their lessons from a 2011 ice storm that brought the city to its knees.

My FB newsfeed is full of pictures like this. Poor Atlanta can’t handle the snow. They say 75 looks like #WalkingDead pic.twitter.com/3dXgHOccPp

— Sara Johnson (@SaraFeed) January 28, 2014

Amazing what 1"-2" of snow can do to cities that don't have equipment to handle it. 5 hours to go 3 miles! #Atlanta pic.twitter.com/7AIaSuRBji

— Bill Graul (@news8bill) January 28, 2014

Georgia leaders seem aware of public angst over the lack of preparation. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said on Twitter Wednesday morning that crews are working diligently to salt and sand roadways.

Which aisle of the CVS is the best one for sleeping? pic.twitter.com/OxagAnOrBQ

— mitrebox (@mitrebox) January 29, 2014

He added: "We know you want to get home, and we are going to work all day until you can return safely." Twenty hours before, he offered this message on Twitter: "Atlanta, we are ready for the snow."

Whoa! Look at this. I-285 out of Atlanta...what a mess! That snow is on the way here. #wis10 pic.twitter.com/i6VAaKLj54

— Tim Miller (@TimMillerSC) January 28, 2014

Atlanta does not handle a "crisis" like a little snow very well. God forbid there is ever a zombie apocalypse! pic.twitter.com/5Vz9F2Z3Fb

— Jordan Jones (@JordanJones33) January 28, 2014

The city's Downtown Connector, numerous Interstate 75 entrance and exit ramps in suburban Cobb County, and stretches of the freeway in other counties were impassible at times after hours of snow Tuesday, Georgia Department of Transportation officials said.

Poor travel conditions were exacerbated Tuesday by a mass of workers ending their days early.

Retailers have become makeshift hotels to shelter stranded travelers in Atlanta. Chaos. #Atlantarctica pic.twitter.com/hUY6PuaoRK

— Alison Embrey Medina (@dretaileditor) January 29, 2014

"Within a very short time frame, from when the snow started falling here, it became very obvious that everyone was leaving at the same time to go home," Gov. Nathan Deal said during a late-night news conference.

A sea of red brake lights remained at a standstill along a dozen lanes of the Downtown Connector shortly before dawn Wednesday.

Motorists stranded overnight in Atlanta, some slept in their vehicles. Via @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/4hBLB946V4

— PzFeed Top News (@PzFeed) January 29, 2014

If there was a bright spot, it was that the bitter cold brought warm, Southern-style graciousness to the fore, as strangers opened up their homes, volunteers served coffee and snacks to the traffic-bound, and schoolbound principals played bingo and other games with stranded students to while away the time.

Heroes also had their day. Police in suburban Atlanta say one of their own helped assist the safe delivery of a baby girl on a gridlocked interstate Tuesday afternoon after snow and ice brought traffic to a crawl.

Atlanta's roads are a frozen hellscape of abandoned cars and stranded people https://t.co/znxE4eNiFO pic.twitter.com/01RnL8A3CS

— Jalopnik (@Jalopnik) January 29, 2014

Sandy Springs Police Capt. Steve Rose told The Associated Press the baby girl was safely delivered around 5:20 p.m. Tuesday amid gridlocked traffic on Interstate 285. A traffic officer arrived with only minutes to spare before the infant arrived.

Stranded drivers sleeping on floor of Publix grocery store in Atlanta https://t.co/KrJDvkl1af pic.twitter.com/AD0PXNqOhi

— Jon Passantino (@passantino) January 29, 2014

Rose said police were so overwhelmed with calls for stranded motorists, fender-benders and other problems that he hadn't even had time to check the identities of the parents - or if the baby had a name yet. But he said they were taken by ambulance to a hospital and were being cared for.

Good Samaritan hands out sandwiches to stranded motorists in ATL. Check out Resource list: https://t.co/rxfjpyvWiO pic.twitter.com/1gJOijw07F

— AJC (@ajc) January 29, 2014

Meanwhile, people took to social media such as Facebook to appeal for overnight shelter - or to offer guest rooms, fire stations, churches and park gymnasiums to those needing a warm place to stay after spending hours in their cars. People on one page, SnowedOutAtlanta, offered guest bedrooms, fire stations, shelters and just about any other warm building to stay. Even a supermarket offered lodging.

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Featured image via @passantino. This post has been updated.