Snow covers a van parked outside the Krystal restaurant on Lee Highway at about 4:30 Thursday morning. Click to enlarge.
- photo by Michael Locke

A winter storm brought the cancellation of a number of school systems, including the Hamilton County Schools on Thursday.

County school officials said, "All Hamilton County Schools will be closed today due to inclement weather. This includes all child care facilities.

"All central office employees who accrue vacation leave should report by 10 a.m. If unable to report by 10 a.m., the employee must use vacation or personal leave. The only exception to this regulation would be operations and maintenance employees. Operations and maintenance employees will receive instructions from their immediate supervisor through Gary Waters, assistant superintendent for auxiliary services."

The storm was expected to bring 1-2 inches of snow.

The snow began falling early Thursday morning. It was expected to turn to rain later Thursday as temperatures warmed up.

Those calling off school for Thursday include GPS, Chattanooga Christian, Bright School, Baylor School, McCallie School, Notre Dame, Senter, Silverdale Baptist, Siskin, St. Peter's, St. Nicholas, Tennessee Temple, Berean Academy, Boyd Buchanan, David Brainerd, Collegedale Academy, Hickory Valley Christian, OLPH and Scenic Land School. Also, Bradley County and Cleveland City Schools, Dalton and Whitfield County Schools, Catoosa County, Chickamauga City, Dade County, Grundy County Schools, Marion County Schools, McMinn County Schools, Meigs County Schools, Polk County Schools, Rhea County Schools and Walker County Schools.

Classes at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and Chattanooga State will begin Thursday at 12:15 p.m. Staff members are asked to report at 12 noon. Southern Adventist University's regular schedule will resume with an 11 a.m. convocation. Lee University and Dalton State were opening at noon.

There was no school at Covenant College, Cleveland State, Miller-Motte Technical and Northwestern Tech.

The 9 a.m. city beer board meeting was postponed until Feb. 15.

A number of roads were slick. Those closed include Roberts Mill Road and the W Road on Signal Mountain.

The Hamilton County General Sessions Court, both criminal and civil divisions will be closed today. Defendants, witnesses and all litigants should call the respective court clerk's office for a rescheduled date if operations are open Friday. Most other courts were shut down in Hamilton County.

The County Commission agenda session was still on.

Thursday night's meeting of the Hamilton County Democratic Party was cancelled. Party Chairman Stuart James said, "We will hold the meeting on Feb. 8 at the same location and time."

Blood Assurance was open today in spite of the weather. Bonnie Phillips said, "If people are able to come out and are near a Blood Assurance location, we would love for them to give blood. This week has been really slow, and donations were already down. With the weather we’re sure today’s blood supply will drop even further. Today we are at a less than 1 day supply of O negative."

The winter weather caused several delays at the Chattanooga Airport Thursday morning, though flights are now operating, spokesperson Christina Siebold said.

If travelers have a question about their flight, they should contact their airline directly. The airport is open and fully operational, but each individual airline makes the call on their flights, Ms. Siebold said.

Passengers can check their airline’s website or call their reservation line for confirmation. They can also check the airport’s website – www.chattairport.com – under “Flight Tracker” to see approximate arrival and departure times for flights.

EPB officials said they are ready for the winter weather predicted to affect the Chattanooga area over the next few days.

"EPB's goal is to stay ahead of any weather situation that could potentially affect the Chattanooga area, and we prepare year-round for severe seasonal weather conditions, including winter snow and ice," said David Wade, EPB's senior vice president of the Electric System Division.

According to Mr. Wade, EPB's ongoing tree-trimming and maintenance efforts have a significant impact on keeping power lines free and clear of snow or ice-covered branches during winter storms.

To prepare for the inclement weather, EPB will have additional staff working throughout the night. EPB officials constantly monitor local and national weather conditions and will ensure that crews are positioned around the area to best serve customer needs during the storm.

If power is interrupted, customers should call EPB's Customer Service line at (423) 648-1EPB (1372), and use the automated system to report their outage. This automated system is the quickest way for repair crew dispatchers to receive notice of the outage, and it allows EPB to keep its Customer Service telephone lines available for responding to emergency situations.

EPB also urged its customers to remain safe by avoiding downed power lines. Any downed line should be considered energized and therefore dangerous.

(Please email your closings as well as snow pictures to
news@chattanoogan.com)