NASHVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE (Jan. 17): The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said a total of 14 deaths were reported across the state due to a winter storm, and warned that temperatures were not expected to reach above freezing until Thursday at the earliest. The Knoxville Police Department separately reported one traffic fatality due to hazardous conditions from the winter storm.
TEMA said of the 14 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 and two in Washington County.
KPD also said Monday evening that 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.
On Tuesday, the Tennessee Valley Authority issued an alert to power companies asking people to voluntarily conserve power by staying inside, turning off lights, lowering thermostats and not using appliances if they didn't need to be used. People can also set thermostats to under 68 degrees to conserve power, TEMA said.
Warming centers were also opened across the state, providing people with a safe place to sleep somewhere to go and stay warm.