Portland meteorologists and transportation officials warned drivers "Don't be Atlanta" as winter weather moved into the region midday Thursday.

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The warning comes a little more than a week after Atlanta made headlines during Winter Storm Leon. Heavy snow started falling midday in the metro area on Tuesday, Jan. 28, and road conditions went downhill quickly. Businesses and schools dismissed at the same time, which turned into massive gridlock. Hundreds of kids were stranded at schools while some drivers reported commutes more than 15 or 20 hours long.

(FORECAST: Snow and Rain Move Into the West)

The heaviest snow in Portland began to fall while people were at work on Thursday, according to weather.com meteorologist Alan Raymond. "Based on model data, the most impactful snowfall came in between 3 p.m and 6 p.m. local time on Thursday. That said, disruptive snow already fell in the higher elevations." 

Timing is everything, and Oregon DOT is using Atlanta's nightmare as a warning. ODOT spokesman Don Hamilton told The Oregonian, “Be safely situated before the storm strikes. Don’t wait for the storm to come to hit the road. If we do that, everyone will leave at once and it’s going to be whole bunch of ugly.”

Since the catastrophe in Atlanta, the city's mayor and the Georgia governor have assembled new action plans to deal with winter weather.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Winter Storm Leon Causes Gridlock in Atlanta