An Arctic front brought snow to East Tennessee early Tuesday morning, and some schools will be closed or start later than normal.
A small amount of snow fell in Oak Ridge, maybe a half-inch or so. Oak Ridge Schools are operating on normal schedules.
Anderson County Schools and Clinton City Schools are both closed due to road conditions.
Roane State Community College campuses are opening at 10 a.m. local time.
The forecast for the Knoxville area called for a 50 percent chance of snow before 10 a.m. Tuesday. Conditions were expected to be cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 33.
The temperature is forecast to drop to about 16 degrees overnight Tuesday night before warming about 10 degrees on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said widespread record cold is spreading from the Plains eastward toward the East Coast.
In addition to the arctic chill, the NWS said, an area of low pressure developing along the arctic front is currently bringing a wide swath of snow to the Tennessee Valley, along the Appalachians and upstate New York into northern New England. Much of the snow is expected to taper off as the low pressure center rapidly intensifies and moves.
“The Arctic Storm that has impacted the Central U.S. will now move into the East with the potential for record cold temperatures, gusty winds, and widespread areas of snow or rain and snow mixed,” the NWS said. “Heavy lake effect snows will continue for some Great Lakes areas. Meanwhile, in the West, record warmth continues, and stagnant air remains entrenched in the Northwest.”
Early Tuesday morning, the NWS said the arctic airmass that has settled into the Plains will continue to spread record cold temperatures south and eastward into the Ohio Valley and down into the southern Plains.
“By Wednesday morning, record low temperatures in the teens and 20s will be common along much of the East Coast, the Ohio Valley, and down as far south as the upper Texas coast, making it feel like the middle of winter for these areas,” the NWS said. “This latest arctic outbreak will begin into moderate on Thursday as the center of the expansive high pressure system begins to move off the New England toward the Canadian Maritimes.”
Rain will move rapidly across the Deep South and the Southeast today before the arctic chill arrives, the NWS said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or john.huotari@oakridgetoday.com.
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