The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) confirmed 14 Tennesseans died due to the winter weather and extreme cold in the state.
“The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed 14 weather-related fatalities. Five in Shelby County, one in Hickman County, one in Madison County, two in Washington County, one in Carroll County, one in Knox County, one in Van Buren County, one in Lauderdale County, and one in Henry County,” the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) wrote in its Wednesday evening Flash Report.
A winter weather system consisting of dangerously cold temperatures and snow began traveling through Tennessee on Sunday.
Another round of wintry precipitation is expected to move through the state on Thursday, with temperatures slightly above freezing. However, temperatures across the state are expected to dip below freezing on Friday and into the weekend.
The extreme winter weather has increased the demand for power across the state. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began asking utility companies on Tuesday to request their customers voluntarily conserve their power usage in an effort to “reduce electric consumption.”
TVA has since reported its electric grid is “stable,” and its generating facilities are “performing well.”
As of 6:00 p.m. CST on Wednesday, TEMA recorded 333 reports of power outages statewide and approximately 600 water outages among Tennessee Ridge Water System customers.
TEMA Director Patrick C. Sheehan declared a State of Emergency on Wednesday to provide commercial vehicles transporting livestock, poultry, and feed for the livestock and poultry relief from hours of service until 3:59 p.m. on January 27.
Sheehan also declared a State of Emergency on January 13 to provide commercial vehicles transporting fuel relief from hours of service until 3:59 p.m. on January 27.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Nashville Snow” by Kim Unertl. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
