Snow: Oak Ridge Schools closed, city opens late, Discovery Ed Livestream postponed

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:52 p.m. Some of these announcements continue to change. We will update this story as we can.

Oak Ridge Schools are closed today (Tuesday, February 24), and the City of Oak Ridge offices will open at 10 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools said the Discovery Ed Livestream that had been scheduled for today has been postponed until May.

Anderson County Courthouse is closed due to weather. So is Roane State Community College.

More snow fell overnight. Oak Ridge Schools had planned to open, but officials on Monday evening said they were keeping an eye on the weather, with snow in the forecast overnight.

The city’s Budget Committee meeting has been moved to 1 p.m Tuesday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room. The Senior Center will close at 5 p.m., and bingo has been canceled. The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will open at noon.

It’s not clear yet if the high school basketball tournament games will be rescheduled again. The final district tournament games were postponed a few times last week and then canceled, and the regional tournament games have already been moved a few times as well due to weather.

Update: The basketball games have reportedly now been pushed back to Wednesday.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said all roads are snow-covered and hazardous.

“Snow continues to fall and additional accumlation is expected through the morning,” the department said. “Travel is not advised. We are again asking everyone to please stay home and not drive.”

ORNL Federal Credit Union branches will open two hours late at 11 a.m. Y-12 Federal Credit Union said its offices will also open two hours late.

The Y-12 National Security Complex is operating on a normal schedule. UPF offsite offices are closed because of hazardous weather and road conditions.

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office said the opening has been delayed until 10 a.m. at OSTI, ORO, EM Oak Ridge Site Office, NE Oak Ridge Site Office, and the ORNL Site Office. Liberal leave is authorized as is telework if you have a situational telework agreement in place. These instructions will be updated no later than 9 a.m. if conditions warrant.

The work schedule for UCOR employees and subcontractors has been delayed until 8:30 a.m.

You might consider calling ahead if you have a question about a specific business or agency.

This is now the second week that schools and government offices and some businesses have been affected by winter weather, with shutdowns and delays widespread and common. Many schools were closed all week last week, starting with Presidents’ Day on Monday.

 

The National Weather Service in Morristown has issued a winter weather advisory through this afternoon.

Another round of snow is expected from late Wednesday through Thursday, forecasters said.

“An upper-level storm system will move across the area today, producing snowy conditions through this afternoon,” the NWS said. “Snow accumulations of three to six inches across the far eastern Tennessee mountains and southwest North Carolina.

“Snowfall of two to four inches is possible across the lower elevations of the Tennessee Valley and southwest Virginia. Most of the Cumberland Plateau and part of the southern valley near Chattanooga are expected to get less than two inches.”

The system that will move across the area late Wednesday through Thursday could produce snow over the southern Appalachians.

The winter weather advisory, which is in effect through 4 p.m. Tuesday, applies to many counties in East Tennessee, including Anderson, Campbell, Knox, Loudon,  Scott, and Union, and northwest Blount counties. Affected cities include Oak Ridge and Clinton, and LaFollette, Knoxville, Lenoir City, and Maryville.

The snow could be occasionally moderate to heavy, continuing this morning and diminishing this afternoon.

“Snowfall of two to four inches is expected,” forecasters said. “Locally heavier amounts are possible.”

The accumulating snowfall will continue through mid-afternoon before tapering to flurries.

“Snow and ice-covered roadways have been reported across the area,” forecasters said. “Road conditions will continue to deteriorate today with hazardous travel conditions.”

See other closing stories for Tuesday here and here.