Southern Discomfort: Cities Still Frozen by Ice Storm
The big freeze continues down South.
Jan. 14, 2011— -- Disruptions from Sunday's winter storm that snarled traffic, grounded flights and left travelers stranded is still wreaking havoc on Southeast residents.
In Atlanta, schools are closed today for the fifth straight day, roads remain icy and dangerous, and some passengers are still stranded at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
"I'm just tired of the waiting," said traveler Kimberly Mitchell.
Daniel Baker, CEO of FlightAware, told ABC News earlier in the week that Atlanta is not equipped to handle this kind of storm.
"We're going to see cancelations to and from cities that have nothing to do with Atlanta," Baker said. "For instance, you might see a flight from Minneapolis to Los Angeles canceled because the plane is stuck in Atlanta."
On the roads since Thursday morning, police have responded to more than 50 new accidents, including one fatality.
Atlanta drivers faced chaotic conditions after 4 to 7 inches of snow and sleet turned many of the interstates into sheets of ice during the storm.
Highways and back roads are still coated with inches of ice, and many are wondering why Atlanta wasn't better prepared for the storm.
The state of Georgia is spending about $2 million a day on storm clean up.
Atlanta Mayor told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the city has added more than 115 pieces of equipment to its snow removal efforts.
"We want to send a clear signal that we are working," Reed told the newspaper. "The last few days have been tough. I wouldn't rate [our response] because we are still in it. But we are not hiding. This is a no-excuses situation."
In Raleigh, N.C., below-freezing temperatures and wind gusts of up to 40 miles an hour are creating dangerous driving conditions.
One contractor told ABC News their machines just aren't used to working with these elements.
"We're eating a lot of the blades off of the tractors so we have to replace them every 12 hours," Steve McClearn. "We had a hard time getting through the ice."
ABC News' Gerard McNiff, Scott Mayerowitz and Leezel Tanglao contributed to this report.