A winter storm that arrived in Chattanooga on Friday afternoon brought hazardous driving conditions and some snow.
There were two wrecks on Interstate 24 westbound, including a jack-knifed tractor-trailer at mile marker 182 at the bottom of the Ridge Cut. Multiple vehicles were involved in a crash near Germantown Road.
CARTA ended its bus service early for the night due to icy roads. CARTA planned to resume service on Saturday at 7:30 a.m.
Road conditions in Whitfield County were hazardous due to the snow and slick roadways. In particular, Airport Road was impassable. Road department crews are working diligently to clear roadways.
Roy Exum on Lookout Mountain reported at 6:09 a.m. Saturday, "We had about two inches of snow, but the rain started a little while ago and already there is about a quarter inch of ice on top of the snow."
Bill Lusk of Signal Mountain said "Icy and cold would best describe things on Signal this morning. There are some icy patches on roads as well. There is some rain, and some ice pellets are falling. It is generally a good morning to stay home.
"By 10 a.m., it was 28 degrees with a mix of sleet, rain and ice pellets. We have gusty winds from the SSE 13 to 25 mph."
Kenneth Flynn of TDOT reported Saturday afternoon,
Most crews in District 28 (Tullahoma, Dunlap) and District 29 (Chattanooga, Cleveland, Athens) are cleaning up slush, finishing tree removal, etc. Air temperatures are mid to higher 30s with rain in these areas.
District 27 (Cookeville, Crossville) has had temperature hovering around 32° with freezing rain for most of the day. This has caused the closing of I-40 and several state routes due to multiple accidents, fallen trees and power lines. District 27 (Cookeville, Crossville) crews have been working extremely hard to reopen these routes and have been supplemented with crews from other districts along with crews from the National Guard and TWRA. Crews from all districts will be rested as time and conditions allow and will return to maintain road conditions in their district and/or assist with clearing, opening or maintain roads in other districts as needed. We are currently assessing the extent of damages and needs for roads in District 27 (Cookeville, Crossville) so that forces can be redeployed once they have rested.