KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The snow has stopped, but most counties across the area saw several inches Monday -- leading to dangerous and difficult-to-traverse road conditions that will stick around the area for a few days at least.
As of Tuesday, freezing temperatures have made roads dangerously slick. However, crews across the area are making progress with clearing snow from the main and secondary roads -- and conditions are improving on the most traveled roads.
During the day when the sun is out, the interstates and main roads should see some of the snow melt off. However, there are still plenty of slick spots and refreezing overnight will be a big concern for drivers, particularly on bridges, overpasses and interstate on/off ramps.
Even though conditions are improving, TDOT is asking people to stay off the interstate and roads as much as possible to give salt and plow crews space to work
“Crews will continue to go over these roads again, and again and again,” TDOT Community Relations Officer Mark Nagi said."The fewer cars on the road, the better.”
Nagi said the frigid temperatures will reduce the effectiveness of road salt overnight. Melted snow could freeze and turn to dangerous patches of ice, particularly on the interstate on-ramps and off-ramps. Drivers need to make sure they are taking exits slowly.
As of 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, there were multiple small wrecks and disabled vehicles in and around Knoxville. I-40 East in Roane County near Rockwood was closed after a multi-vehicle wreck, TDOT said. I-40 West also was closed Tuesday morning in Jefferson County in two different spots, MM 421 and MM 424, due to two different semi-truck crashes. The roadway has since opened, TDOT said.
Other than a few stalled vehicles off on the side of the roads, traffic was flowing relatively smoothly on most highways and interstates as of noon Tuesday.
KPD said 911 is not responding to non-emergency calls or non-serious crashes due to the snow. Anyone who calls 911 will be advised how the call will be handled. KPD said an officer might not come if it's not an emergency and told people they should stay off the roads if possible.
You can check current conditions on I-40, I-75, I-640, and other major roads below or on TDOT Smartway:
KAT buses in Knoxville suspended services Monday and will not be operating until conditions improve across the city. As of Tuesday, KAT said it expects to resume routes on Wednesday afternoon.
The city of Knoxville said its plows and salt trucks were making progress clearing the main Level I roads and Level II roads, saying it expects it will eventually begin plowing the Level III neighborhood and back roads later Tuesday.
"Public Service has made significant progress and treated all level 1 and 2 roads. Most main roads are passable. Side and residential roads remain slick and snow-covered," KPD said. "Continue to use caution on the roads, and be aware of ice and possible black ice as temperatures drop."
In Knoxville, roads are ranked as Level I, Level II or Level III. The city keeps a snow plan at this link that lists dozens of roads across the city and what priority they get when it comes to plowing and brine/salt trucks.
Level I roads are the busiest ones or ones that serve as emergency and hospital routes. Level II roads are the ones that connect to main streets or ones that are hilly. Level III roads are everything else—back roads and smaller neighborhood roads.
In Bount County, crews have made progress on clearing the main roads. 10News crews driving around the area found most main roads were cleared with some lingering snow patches. Blount County said it has dropped 5,000 gallons of calcium, 500 tons of salt and 100 tons of glass mixed in with the salt to help melt the snow, but also echoed worries about ice overnight.
Blount County said people should try to wait until the sun is out Thursday before heading out on the roads if possible, saying that's when it expects conditions to improve greatly.
In Sevier County, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has closed due to the weather.
GSMNP said most park roads are closed including Newfound Gap, Little River, Gatlinburg Bypass, Cherokee Orchard, Laurel Creek, Cades Cove Loop, Upper Tremont, Foothills Parkway East & West, Wears Cove Gap, Old NC 284, Lakeview Drive, Greenbrier, Cataloochee Entrance and Tom Branch.
A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect for most of East Tennessee until Wednesday at noon.
