The scurrying around last weekend in anticipation of Sunday's major winter storm proved not to be overstated Southern panic as the metro Atlanta area and much of Georgia and the Deep South were crippled all week.

Nearly half a foot of snow, followed by sleet and freezing rain, forced the cancellation of Cobb schools all week, and Cobb government offices and services were on reduced schedules. 

Making recovery efforts worse was the refreezing of icy roads several times during the week, as overnight temperatures dipped into the teens. 

Cobb DOT crews struggled to reach residential and surface streets, and some major roads remained hazardous late in the week because none of the county de-icing trucks have scrapers. 

Indeed, there were well-traveled portions of Roswell Road, Sewell Mill Road and other thoroughfares that were dangerous, especially in pockets where the sun couldn't reach. 

The weather did claim one fatality in East Cobb. Conyer "Conny" Baldwin, 82, slipped on some ice as he went outside to get his newspaper and hit his head. He was a Lockheed retiree long active in a Marietta American Legion post.

Families unaccustomed to spending so much quality time together during the week took it all in stride, but not without challenges. 

All high school sporting events were cancelled or postponed, including this weekend's state wrestling duals. That didn't stop some of the idled athletes from continuing to prepare for their next competition, including Pope wrestler Brooks Climmons, a favorite for the state championship in the 145-pound class. 

In non-weather headlines, former Cobb police officer Kenneth Reda pleaded guilty in the Lake Allatoona boating death of colleague Sgt. Brent Stephens. Reda will be sentenced on Tuesday. 

On Friday, the Fulton County District Attorney's office formally indicted Gregory Favors, an habitual offender, for murder and other felonies in the Dec. 27 shooting death of East Cobb resident and Georgia State Patrol trooper Chadwick LeCroy.