LIVE UPDATES: East Tennessee is covered in ice and bitter cold is coming back ... again

Sarah Riley, Knoxville News Sentinel
Updated ·6 min read

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Knoxville, you have a small window now if you want to leave your house and the roads are OK near you.

A dangerous combo with a wintry mix of rain and snow falling from the sky and freezing temperatures equals majorly "hazardous conditions" today, the National Weather Service office in Morristown warns. Today's mix is a slightly different variation on the winter weather that has come down hard of East Tennessee this week.

The winter weather advisory has been extended until 7 p.m. East Tennessee could get more snow today.

Then the thermometer will plummet again tonight - way down. We're looking at wind chills near zero starting at 11 p.m. and running until noon Jan. 20.

Stop us if you've heard this before.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation warned hours ago there were many crashes around our part of the state and asked drivers to stay off the highways. Stay in if you can.

Plow crews got our roads in decent shape yesterday but it's a whole new ballgame today.

Be smart, use caution and check back here often for news that's changing from minute to minute.

Highways are OK but other roads are icy - officials ask you to stay home

East Tennessee highways are driveable (take a look for yourself on the cameras), Tennessee Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Nagi told Knox News, but state roads and other streets are not in good shape because of the ice.

“I think people are heeding the warnings and if they can stay off the roadways that’s the best course of action as our crews are treating the roads across the state," he said.

“The sun will help a little bit, but we’re probably a couple of days away from having a serious thaw.”

Knoxville crews worked overnight to plow streets and spread salt to get ahead of the ice coating the city, but the officials said road conditions are dangerous. They're asking you to stay home for now.

The priorities are main thoroughfares and connector roads, plus access to hospitals. Plowing secondary roads and neighborhood roads will come after that.

Knoxville is working to keep up with the pace of storms

Knoxville crews said their planned progress in clearing entrances to neighborhoods and subdivisions has been stunted due to plunging temperatures and more snow.

“We understand residents are ready for the snow and ice to be gone and to move back into their normal travel habits," said David Brace, Mayor Indya Kincannon's chief of staff. "But with last night’s freezing rain event and snow falling today, travel conditions will continue to be a challenge. Please know our teams are working long hours and are committed to pushing hard on Saturday and Sunday.”

Crews will continue salting and plowing streets into the weekend. The city is responsible for 500 lane miles of high-priority streets, and low priority residential streets "dwarf that number of miles," according to the release.

Due to repeated waves of snow plus temperature drops and refreezes, roads must be treated with salt and brine repeatedly.

Because of that, the city replenished its salt stockpile at a cost of $219,600.

And the full cost of battling this week's storm won't be known for around a week, but costs covering employees' overtime and purchases have already exceeded $335,000.

TVA expects high power demand this weekend, but not another record

Temperatures will drop into the teens and single digits across East Tennessee this weekend and the Tennessee Valley Authority expects relatively high power demands above 30,000 megawatts at peak hours.

That's not enough to break a record it set on Jan. 17 of 34,524 megawatts. It is enough that TVA is sharing ideas for conserving energy and lowering next month's power bill. Those include postponing hot water use, turning off and unplugging unused electrical appliances and lights, and setting your thermostat to 65-68 degrees.

"TVA remains in a healthy system position. Our power system remains stable with our generating plants operating as planned," TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks shared in an email. "Thank you to consumers across the region for their energy conservation efforts during these bitterly cold temperatures."

Brooks said TVA broke a separate record this week, for most power demand met in a 48-hour period on Jan. 16-17. The federal utility delivered 725 gigawatt hours of energy — or 725,000 megawatt hours — on Jan. 17, the second highest single-day demand in its history.

A megawatt is about how much energy 585 average homes require at any given moment, while a megawatt hour is how much energy they use over an hour.

McGhee Tyson Airport runways are clear, but airlines have canceled some flights

Passengers flying out of McGhee Tyson Airport should plan ahead.

The airport has been able to keep runways clear, Knoxville airport spokesperson Becky Huckaby told Knox News. She said most delays and cancellations today were due to weather problems in other cities.

There have been 16 flight cancellations in the last 24 hours as of 10:30 a.m., according to FlightAware. McGhee Tyson's website shows 13 delayed flights today.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closed

Parts of the nation park had reopened after this week's storm, but it is completely closed again now "due to hazardous weather and icy roads."

Knoxville warming centers are open through Jan. 20

The Vestal United Methodist Church warming center hit full capacity, so guests were brought to the more spacious South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Maryville Pike.Warming centers are also open at Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church and Cokesbury Church.

Need help? Head there. Want to lend a hand? Volunteers are making this possible for our neighbors in need. Call 211 or email office@knoxtnhousing.org.

Today's cancellations

This list is a starting point for major services and will be updated throughout the day.

  • Knoxville Area Transit buses are not running today. KAT plans on operating snow routes Jan. 20 only on major roads with the first line-up at 11:15 a.m., and the last line-up at 8:15 p.m. This is subject to change based on road conditions.

  • No Knoxville garbage pickup today.

  • The city's solid waste facility at 1033 Elm St. will be closed Jan. 20.

  • Knoxville city offices are closed today.

  • Knox County libraries are closed and will remain closed until Jan. 22.

  • Knox County offices and courts are closed.

  • State of Tennessee offices are closed, but online services are functional.

  • Schools are closed. Check out the list here.

  • Knoxville recreation programs are canceled or closed, but some centers may be open. Call before you go.

  • Knoxville Museum of Art is closed today, Saturday and Sunday.

Cabin fever? Need to get the kids out of the house? We have ideas

Parents, we know what you're going through. It's been a long week that's bringing back pandemic memories of working at home while the kids are also there ... and bored ... and hungry.

For anyone who needs to get of the house but isn't a fan of winter sports, we have a few indoor fun ideas.

(Love skiing and snow tubing? We have you covered here.)

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville weather live updates: Black ice and freezing cold