ATLANTA — It’s been 10 years since Snow Jam 2014 shut down Atlanta, stranding drivers and sparking frustration, fear, and questions about what went wrong.
But amid it all, many also remember the silver lining: a community that showed up for each other. For Dee Johnson, that’s what stays with her.
“It was 12:00 p.m., no snow,” she said of the moment she entered Maggiano’s in Buckhead for a business meeting. “We come out and snow everywhere. It was snow everywhere.”
Johnson said she was among the countless who spent hours navigating their way. She and her two daughters took separate cars. One was lucky and made it home in four hours. Johnson managed to reunite with her other daughter at a hotel at 3 a.m. thanks to a stranger’s kindness.
“The woman was a Katrina survivor,” Johnson said. “She was a business visitor from New Orleans. Jessica, our angel. She turned around and she said, ‘I have a suite, and it’s just me.’”
The pair were able to stay in that room, one of the many moments she thinks about years later.
“On 285, people ran out of gas,” she continued “Family with small children walking along. Beautiful people that lived close came by with coffee, tea… knocked on the window, asking are you okay?”
James Josey, now head of Georgia Department of Transportation’s Hero Unit, also remembers the good stuff.
“We had a lot of folks jump into their four-wheelers and their bikes that could navigate tight spaces,” Josey said. “That could come help us out. So that was great to see.”
Archive video and social media capture such moments. James Roberts was among the many 11Alive met that day. Roberts stocked his car with snacks and supplies and headed into the chaos to comfort those stranded.
“I raided the Valentine's section to get everybody those little heart boxes,” he shared at the time.
Such moments of compassion and community continue to resonate. These are moments Johnson will carry for years to come.
“People could have stayed at home on their couch. They were safe, but yet they put on a coat and grabbed whatever they could share, you know?” she added. “It was truly moving and beautiful.”