NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Editor's Note: The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency originally reported 27 winter-related deaths, with two in Roane County. After reaching out, the Roane County EMA Director told WBIR one of the deaths was not weather-related. The person died of a heart attack, unrelated to the weather.
UPDATE (Jan. 22): The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reported 34 total weather-related deaths so far, with one addition in Shelby County.
The death totals by county, according to TEMA, are listed below.
- Shelby County - 11 deaths
- Hickman County - 1 death
- Madison County - 2 deaths
- Washington County - 2 deaths
- Carroll County - 1 death
- Knox County - 7 deaths
- Van Buren County - 1 death
- Lauderdale County -1 death
- Henry County - 1 death
- Marshall County - 2 deaths
- Coffee County - 1 death
- Marion County - 1 death
- Roane County - 2 deaths
- Anderson County - 1 death
Knox County leaders separately reported eight deaths that were possibly weather-related, after confirming another homeless man had died on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue on Monday. He died partially due to hypothermia.
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The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said a total of 16 deaths were reported across the state due to a winter storm.
TEMA said of the 17 reported deaths, five deaths were reported in Shelby County, one in Hickman County, one in Madison County, one in Carroll County, one in Van Buren County, one in Lauderdale County, one in Henry County, one in Knox County, two in Marshall County and two in Washington County.
On Monday evening, KPD announced a driver on I-75 North near Callahan Drive fatally rear-ended a semi-truck due to snowy conditions on the road.
TEMA said Governor Bill Lee declared a state of emergency on Jan. 13 to support commercial vehicles transporting fuel until 3:59 p.m. on Jan. 27—since there is expected to be an increase in demand for fuel and energy during extreme cold.
"The extremely cold temperatures across the region have increased the demand on the power system. Businesses and the public have been asked to reduce electric power use as much as possible without sacrificing safety," TEMA said in a release.
Warming centers were also opened across the state, providing people with a safe place to sleep somewhere to go and stay warm.