KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — East Tennessee isn't out of the woods yet when it comes to winter weather and travel experts urge everyone to stay home and avoid dealing with icy roads.
The entire area is under a Winter Weather Advisory from 7 p.m. Thursday until 7 a.m. Friday morning, which could bring freezing rain, ice and additional snow to the area.
"Tennesseans have seen more winter weather than we have seen maybe in some of our own lifetimes in this week alone," said AAA Spokesperson Megan Cooper. "As we move later into later in the week, we are expecting rain and particularly, more ice."
With both ice and snow, drivers have less traction on roads, but there are key differences between icy roads and snowy roads, she said.
"Particularly with snow, it's very easy to see snow," Cooper said. "It's not always easy to see ice."
The safest place for drivers to be is at home, she said, adding that people who absolutely need to be out need to take it slow.
Getting traction on the roadways is difficult in the snow and even harder in ice.
"When you're driving, make sure you're slow and steady," Cooper said. "Avoid making unnecessary lane changes."
Drivers should not hit the brake on ice because that could cause the vehicle to lose control. If they see ice up ahead, they should brake ahead of it. Instead of braking when they hit ice, they should ease off the vehicle's accelerator.
Cooper said it will be extremely difficult to get up and down hills during ice events, and people should go as slow as possible.
Although all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive are advantageous in the snow because they give people more tire traction, ice is a different story.
"With ice it really doesn't matter if you have two-wheel drive... all-wheel drive, it's still going to be slick," she said. "If you can't get traction on the roadway, it really doesn't matter what vehicle you have."
People should check weather and traffic reports ahead of leaving work on Thursday and recognize conditions will likely be different than they were when they left for work in the morning.
AAA's main calls for service right now are for dead batteries, Cooper said, adding people who haven't moved their cars since Monday should at least turn the vehicle on for a bit today.
"Vehicle batteries last three to five years," she said. "If it's been awhile, go ahead and don't wait to the last minute."
Now is a good time to clear vehicles off, even if people don't hit the roads until it's safer.
"If your vehicle has been sitting outside, especially before you leave, make sure you clear that snow off your vehicle," Cooper said. "But also clear off the snow on the top of your vehicle."