How much snow did Knoxville, East Tennessee get? Double-digits snowfall reported but not quite a record

Liz Kellar, Knoxville News Sentinel
·3 min read
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The snowstorm forecast to drop up to 8 inches of snow on the Knoxville area outdid itself. The light flurries that started Monday morning continued all day long, getting heavier at times and eventually dumping as much as 10 inches in spots.

Traffic crashes mounted across Knox County, roads were closed, shoppers emptied grocery store shelves and people filled warming centers past their capacity.

So how much snow did the National Weather Service record across East Tennessee? And did the snowfall break any records?

Many Knoxville residents wondered whether this snow event would beat the infamous blizzard of 1993. Spoiler alert: It didn't.

Snowfall totals hit double-digits in parts of East Tennessee

National Weather Service local storm reports showed some significant variations in recorded snowfall. Oak Ridge saw 8.5 inches, and areas of Knox County recorded anywhere from 6.5 inches to a high of 9.9 inches.

By comparison, the average snowfall in Knoxville is 4.6 inches, according to the weather service.

There were extremes depending on geography. Some towns in the Tri-Cities area recorded just 1-2 inches. But in Clinton, northwest of Knoxville, 10 inches of snow fell.

A varied mix of snow, rain, sleet and freezing rain fell across southeast Tennessee and lower elevation foothills near the mountains.

The differing snow totals were related to the exact location of the arctic cold front, the weather service explained. Areas behind the cold front were in deep cold air and saw continuous snow, receiving heavy snow totals. Areas closer to the cold front had cold air close to the surface but a level of warmer air above that, causing that mix of snow and rain.

Here are the latest snowfall totals for Knoxville and around East Tennessee posted by the National Weather Service in Morristown shortly before 11 a.m. Jan. 16.

  • Jonesborough: 2.0 inches

  • Kingsport: 5.0 inches

  • Karns: 6.5-8.0 inches

  • Farragut: 8-8.8 inches

  • Oak Ridge: 8.5 inches

  • Lenoir City: 9.0 inches

  • Alcoa: 4.8-9.0 inches

  • Halls: 7.0-9.0 inches

  • Bearden: 8-9.9 inches

  • Clinton: 7.5-10.0 inches

How did Jan. 15 compare to the blizzard of 1993?

On March 12, 1993, a massive storm dumped 15 inches of snow on the Knoxville area within 24 hours. It snapped trees, downed powerlines, left 40,000 Knoxville Utilities Board customers without power and caused the deaths of at least four people.

The Blizzard of ’93 was one for the record books. Knoxville recorded its most snowfall in a single day since 1960, according to National Weather Service data . And it was the highest single-day snowfall total in March since 1942, Knox News reported.

What was that record snowfall in 1960? A staggering 17.5 inches fell on Feb. 13, 1960. The most snow in one month also fell in February, when Knoxville recorded 25.7 inches in 1895. The highest annual snowfall, from 1959 to 1960, was 56.7 inches.

What about the "bomb cyclone" of 2022? A storm on March 12, 2022, dumped several inches of snow across most of the area, even in the lower elevations, and produced the most single-day snowfall in Knoxville (6.5 inches) since the 1993 storm.

Icy cold, more snow possible for Knoxville in days ahead

A wind chill advisory with very cold wind chills as low as 15 below zero from 5 p.m. Jan. 16 to noon Jan. 17.

The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken, the weather service warns. Even after the snow and freezing drizzle end, icy hazardous travel is expected, especially on untreated roads.

Even at 15 below zero, Knoxville won't hit a record low temperature. The coldest day recorded in Knoxville was on Jan. 21, 1985, with a low of -24 degrees.

Our next chance of wintry precipitation arrives the night of Jan. 18 into Jan. 19, the weather service said. There's still a lot of uncertainty with this system, but at this time, the better chances for accumulating snow will be across northern East Tennessee.

Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville snow totals: East Tennessee sees double-digit snowfall