There were only a few inches of snow in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday, but as road conditions deteriorated, the NBA decided to postpone the hometown Hawks’ game against the visiting Houston Rockets.
The NBA said the decision was made “to prioritize the safety of the players, fans and staff due to the severe weather and dangerous icy conditions in the Atlanta area.”
The league said a date for a rescheduled game will be announced at a later date. The Rockets’ team flight arrived in Atlanta before the postponement was announced.
A winter storm brought snow and ice to the Atlanta area on Friday and roads were expected to refreeze Saturday night.
Power outages around Atlanta increased Friday evening as falling trees on power lines became a widespread problem. More than 110,000 customers were without electricity, mostly in the Atlanta area.
Four passengers were injured Friday after a Delta Air Lines plane aborted takeoff en route to Minneapolis. Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant said the plane had an engine problem.
Atlanta residents head to Piedmont Park on Friday to walk around and sled
Snow blanketed parts of Atlanta after a storm on Friday as streets were largely deserted
Although the problem occurred during the snowstorm that caused widespread cancellations and delays in Atlanta — the world’s busiest airport — officials could not say whether the problem was weather-related.
The 201 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants on board evacuated the Boeing 757-300 using inflatable slides and were returned by bus to a hall. One of the injured passengers was taken to a hospital, while three were treated at the airport for minor injuries.
The storm moved out to sea off the East Coast on Saturday, leaving a forecast for snow showers in the Appalachians and New England. But temperatures were expected to drop after sunset in the south, raising the risk that melting snow would refreeze, leaving roads treacherously covered in ice.
“I definitely don’t think everything will melt completely,” said Scott Carroll, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Atlanta. ‘There will probably still be some slush, especially on secondary roads.’
Major airports, including those in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, continued to report disruptions. While flights were operating, airlines canceled and delayed more flights after Friday’s weather brought travel to a standstill.
A man uses a snow blower after a snowstorm Friday in Atlanta
About 1,000 flights to and from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were canceled or delayed as of Saturday afternoon, according to tracking software FlightAware. The security lines in the terminal were also extremely long.
Sarah Waithera Wanyoike, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn, arrived at the world’s busiest airport before dawn Friday to catch an Ethiopia Airlines flight to work in Zimbabwe.
The plane boarded after a delay but never took off. The passengers were returned to the gate after six hours of taxiing. Wanyoike said her luggage remained on the plane and she was afraid to try to go home because she was told she had to be back at the gate before dawn.
“People were sleeping on the floor with their babies last night,” Wanyoike said on Saturday.
Delta Air Lines, the airport’s largest carrier, said Saturday it is “working to stabilize” operations at its Atlanta hub and expects “reliable service to resume this weekend.”