Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge EM prepared for cold weather to prevent failures

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From DOE Office of Environmental Management’s “EM Update” newsletter

UCOR employees Andy Rodgers, left, and Alex Johnson install heat tracing to protect systems at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility during the holiday 2022 cold snap in Oak Ridge. Temperatures did not reach above freezing for more than four consecutive days. (Photo courtesy UCOR/DOE EM)

UCOR employees Andy Rodgers, left, and Alex Johnson install heat tracing to protect systems at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility during the cold snap in Oak Ridge. Temperatures did not reach above freezing for more than four consecutive days.

Much of the nation experienced an extreme cold snap over the recent holidays, and Tennessee was no exception with temperatures dipping to nearly zero degrees in Oak Ridge. Despite the bitter weather, preparations and recent upgrades helped prevent infrastructure failures during that time.

Many employees with EM cleanup contractor UCOR reported to work over the holidays to ensure issues were resolved at several essential facilities. (EM stands for environmental management.)

At the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, advanced planning and preparation protected critical water management systems during the deep freeze over the nearly weeklong cold snap, including a 6.5-hour unplanned power outage.

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NWS: Temps above normal in 2022, but record cold Christmas Eve

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Image courtesy National Weather Service Morristown

The average temperatures in 2022 were above the normal temperatures in East Tennessee, but there were record cold temperatures reported on Christmas Eve, the National Weather Service said.

The number of cold hours around Christmas in late December might have seemed long, but it was not a record-breaker, the NWS said.

“The arctic front that ushered in this outbreak of cold weather moved through during the early morning hours on December 23,” the NWS said. Between then and the end of the cold streak, several locations recorded more than 100 consecutive hours at or below freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Wise, a city in southwest Virginia north of Tennessee’s Tri-Cities, reported 107 hours below freezing, the NWS said. That’s equivalent to about 4.5 days. Oak Ridge was below freezing for 106 hours and Knoxville for 104 hours, both also close to 4.5 days.

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TVA reviewing mandatory power outages

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Tennessee Valley Authority offices are pictured above in June 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday said it takes “full responsibility” for the impact of the first-ever mandatory power outages during the cold weather on Friday and Saturday last week, and it is reviewing what happened.

“We at TVA take full responsibility for the impact we had on our customers,” the electrical provider said in a press release posted on its website. “We never want to impact anyone’s energy at any time. This is not the way we want to serve our communities and customers.

“We are conducting a thorough review of what occurred and why. We are committed to sharing these lessons learned and—more importantly—the corrective actions we take in the weeks ahead to ensure we are prepared to manage significant events in the future.”

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Closures announced due to weather

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Government offices and other organizations have announced they will be closed or opening late Tuesday due to the weather.

The Anderson County Family Justice Center is closed, and Anderson County government offices are closed.

The Seventh Judicial District Attorney General’s Office is closed.

City of Oak Ridge offices are opening three hours late, at 11 a.m.

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City offices opening 3 hours late

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City of Oak Ridge offices will open three hours late on Tuesday because of the snowy weather and icy conditions.

City offices will open at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Essential employees will be required to report at their regular time, the city said.

Temps could stay below freezing through Christmas

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The extreme cold wind chills will continue much of the day on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. When going outside, dress appropriately. Wear several layers of clothes, coat, hat, and gloves. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

Temperatures could stay below freezing through Christmas, and a wind chill warning remains in effect for Oak Ridge through early Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The wind chill warning expires at 1 p.m. Saturday. The NWS forecast said wind chill values could range between -3 and 7 degrees Fahrenheit, with winds of between 5 and 10 miles per hour. Scattered snow flurries are possible between noon and 2 p.m. Saturday.

The high Saturday is forecast near 22. The low Saturday night is forecast at 12.

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Updated: TVA ends rolling blackouts

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Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m.

Mandatory rolling power blackouts continued in Oak Ridge and across the region Saturday morning. The City of Oak Ridge announced at about 11:40 a.m. Saturday that the power outages had been terminated.

Here is the previous story:

The blackouts will affect 10 percent of customers at a time, and power outages will last about 30 minutes, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release. That’s a larger percentage of customers who will be affected by the Saturday outages than the ones on Friday, when about 2 percent of Oak Ridge customers were affected.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides power to the City of Oak Ridge, said the blackouts are necessary because of the extreme weather conditions, according to the press release. The power demand is high as temperatures have dropped into the single digits in what has been called a “once-in-a-generation” storm.

TVA said the power demand is among its highest in its nearly 90-year history. Typical power demands for December are around 24,000 megawatts. On Friday, power demands surpassed 33,000 megawatts, TVA said.

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NWS: Dangerous wind chills possible

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Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

Dangerous wind chills are possible from Thursday to Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The temperature could drop to 11 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday night, 5 degrees on Friday night, and 9 degrees on Saturday night, according to the NWS forecast for Oak Ridge.

And there could be wind gusts of up to 20-30 miles per hour between Thursday night and Saturday, the Oak Ridge forecast said, making the outside air temperature feel even colder.

Wind chills in the area between Knoxville and Kingston could range between -10 and -12 from Friday morning to mid-Saturday, the NWS said.

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Snow falls in Oak Ridge

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Pembroke Road in the Woodland neighborhood is pictured after more than an inch of snow fell in Oak Ridge on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

More than an inch of snow fell in Oak Ridge on Sunday.

The snow started falling at about 1 p.m. Sunday and continued until about 9. Oak Ridge Today measured close to 1.5 inches of snow in central Oak Ridge.

Northwestern Avenue in the Woodland neighborhood is pictured after more than an inch of snow fell in Oak Ridge on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Some side streets were still snow covered at about 10 p.m. Sunday, but heavily traveled roads and main roads such as South Illinois Avenue were mostly clear except for some slush. That raised the possibility that some surfaces might freeze overnight with the low forecast around 26 degrees Fahrenheit.

There is a 40% chance of snow in the Oak Ridge area before 2 a.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

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NWS issues winter storm warning

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This map by the National Weather Service in Morristown shows a snowfall forecast between Sunday morning, Jan. 16, and Monday morning, Jan. 17, 2022.

A winter storm warning is in effect for Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, and Scott counties.

The National Weather Service in Morristown issued the winter storm warning Sunday morning, and it is in effect through Monday morning.

Heavy snow is expected, with between 1 to 5 inches of snow possible and 6 to 9 inches at the highest elevations.

“Travel could be very difficult,” the NWS said. “The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute.”

You can get the latest road conditions by calling 511. “If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency,” the NWS said.

The Oak Ridge forecast calls for rain before noon, then rain and snow between noon and 4 p.m., with snow after 4 p.m. The temperature will fall to around 32 degrees Fahrenheit by 4 p.m., the NWS said. The chance of precipitation is 90%. Close to an inch of snow is possible, forecasters said.

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Chance of snow, cold weather on Sunday

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This map by the National Weather Service in Morristown shows a snowfall forecast between Saturday morning, Jan. 15, and Monday morning, Jan. 17, 2022.

There is a chance of snow and cold, below-freezing temperatures on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The NWS has published several snowfall forecasts, based upon different probabilities.

The official NWS forecast shows less than an inch of snow is possible in the Oak Ridge area.

More snow, greater than 4 inches, is possible in areas north of Oak Ridge, such as Sunbright, Oneida, and Tazewell.

Here is the NWS forecast for Oak Ridge:

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Centennial Golf Course to remain closed Saturday

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Part of Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in east Oak Ridge is pictured above on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Centennial Golf Course and range will remain closed on Saturday due to snow and ice.

Course crews will reassess conditions on Saturday to determine if there is a possibility of opening on Sunday for regular hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., a press release said.

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