Atlanta recovering from winter storm

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed says "a lot of people" are still stranded in their cars on the highways nearly 24 hours after a winter storm slammed the city, but he is not sure of exactly how many people.

Reed said the focus Wednesday will be on getting food, water and gas to people still on the highways. The roads became gridlock Tuesday when schools, businesses and government offices all let out at the same time. As the snow fell on the traffic jam, the roads iced over, creating a mess.

Atlanta officials say they have gotten all of the students who spent the night in school

buses off of the buses and to safe places, such as fire stations.

Nearly 8,000 students across Georgia and Alabama woke up today in school gyms or on buses. Streets and highways were littered with abandoned cars. Others emerged from churches, fire stations and grocery stores where they had spent the night after a rare snowstorm left thousands of unaccustomed southerners frozen in their tracks.

Tuesday's storm deposited mere inches of snow - less than three inches in Atlanta - barely enough to qualify as a storm up North.  But it was more than enough to paralyze Deep South cities such as Greenville, N.C., which officials say has only three snow plows, and New Orleans, which has none.

The below-freezing weather turned major roadways into sheets of ice, leaving thousands of drivers stranded and cars abandoned.