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Heavy Snow Blankets Middle Tennessee

NewsChannel 5 reporter Kimberly Davis is in Clarksville where conditions are deteriorating.
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Snow blanketed Middle Tennessee and parts of Southern Kentucky as a major winter storm moved through the area.

Nashville activated its Emergency Operations Center at 10 a.m. All Metro and State officers were closed Friday.

A Level III State of Emergency had already been declared in Tennessee ahead of the weather system. A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until Saturday.

Some areas on the Tennessee-Kentucky line saw as much as 9-10 inches of snow, and southern counties saw 4-6 inches. @NashSevereWX gathered some of the totals.

Portions of Davidson County got as much as 5-8 inches of snow. The snowfall what beautiful and fluffy white making it perfect sledding material. Kids and parents took to hills around the region. Officers with the Mt. Juliet Police Department caught a few on camera.

People all across the mid-state sent in there snow pictures to NewsChannel5. To see a slideshow of some of those pictures click the link here: Veiwer Pictures: Winter Storm Hits Middle Tennessee

However, it was anything but beautiful for drivers. Officials urged drivers to stay at home, unless they absolutely had to be out. NewsChannel 5 reporter Nick Beres witnessed a few cars spin out on Murfreesboro Road and Spence Lane.

Most of Nashville was a blanket of white, which proved to be a major problem for drivers in areas near and in downtown.

A thick sheet of ice led to gridlock on Charlotte Avenue downtown. The ice was so bad people got part of the way up the hill beside the capital and slid backward, or just put it in reverse and tried again.

"We can't get up the hill because we don't have any traction. We just can't get up there," said a driver from Jackson, Tennessee who drove into town for a conference.

"Let's see what happens," he said as he attempted the hill. His Ford Focus was not prepared for the weather.

His coworkers were watching in a four wheel drive pick-up. "He's just got a little too little weight," they observed.

They actually tried to push him up the hill.   But even that did not work. "This is our fifth try," they said. The guys from Jackson weren't alone, even experienced drivers weren’t going anywhere.

A few streets over in the Gulch an MTA bus got stuck. Crews came with salt and shovels and after thirty minutes got the bus moving again. "We're having a lot of problems out here but we're trying to get the public moved to where they need to go," one of the MTA workers said.

Back on Charlotte, on the sixth try, the guys from Jackson finally started getting some traction. "There he goes. Maybe he will make it. Keep going," they urged. "He's up on top. I don't know if he's going to make it," they said

The good news is they made it and we did not witness any bad wrecks. Snow plows helped break up the ice, but it remained bad this afternoon. For many the best way to get around was by foot.

Further north along the Kentucky border, snowfall totals could be around 9 inches or greater.

NewsChannel 5 reporter Matthew Torres was live in Hopkinsville where freezing rain transitioned to snow around 5 a.m.

“This is as bad as I’ve seen it in six years, honestly,” one resident said. “Last year it was bad but snowing all day like this? I think it’s going to be the worst they’ve had in years.”

Clarksville was also slammed with snow. Roads were covered with slush and snow and parts of I-40 in Montgomery County was shut down for a short time.

A snow-releated crash into a power pole caused an electricity outage for thousands of residents in Clarksville.

Icing has also been an issue with this storm. If you do lose control of your vehicle, TDOT officials said to remain in your vehicle. 

If you have to head out, pack plenty of blankets, water and other necessities. You could be stuck there for a while. 

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