KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A strong cold front is expected to move through East Tennessee Friday night with temperatures plummeting from the upper 40s at midnight to below freezing by sunrise Saturday morning.
Winds are also expected to become breezy out of the northwest at 10-20 mph, gusting over 30 mph at times, pushing very cold air into East Tennessee and Southeast Kentucky. It could lead to snow early Saturday morning before temperatures drop to near-record lows later that night.
As a result, some organizations canceled and postponed events that were planned for the weekend. They are listed below:
Saturday Events
- Bearden High School SAT exam has been canceled for Saturday due to the possibility of severe weather.
- The Second Harvest Fresh Pantry mobile distribution event that was originally scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.
- An event with The Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians where Jennifer Pharr Davis was expected to speak at the Knoxville Museum of Art has been postponed from Saturday to Tuesday, April 5 at 6 p.m. The event will feature a dinner instead of a lunch. Current registrations for the event will be honored.
- A river cleanup event hosted by Ijams originally scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.
- Dollywood will open at noon on Saturday, delayed by a few hours due to expected winter weather.
- The WDVX Blue Plate Special originally scheduled for Saturday was canceled due to the snow.
- Scarboro, Senior, and Recreation/Civic Center was closed and its programs were canceled
- The Oak Ridge Public Library was closed for the day
- Centennial Golf Course was closed. With this amount of snow, officials said it was highly unlikely the course would open Sunday. Staff will be on property from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to take phone calls and answer any voicemails.
- The Waste Connections of Tennessee - Oak Ridge Warehouse Road Convenience Center was closed Saturday morning due to snowy conditions.
- A Caryville event to support building an inclusive playground was postponed until Monday.
Businesses Closed
- Eastminister Presbyterian Church
- Rocky Hill Baptist Church
- Salem Baptist Church (10:15 a.m. service only)
- St. Joseph School of Knoxville (Sister Jolita Event moved to Sunday, March 13, 5:00-8:00 pm )
- Rockwood Baptist Tabernacle (closed for Sunday morning service)
This story will be updated if more events are canceled due to expected winter weather over the weekend.