As of Sunday, 27 people are dead after Tennessee was pummeled with winter weather last week, as confirmed by the Tennessee Department of Health (TDOH).
As part of a release from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), TDOH said eight people in Shelby County, four in Knox County, two in Marshall County, two in Washington County, and two in Roane County had died as a result of the storms.
One death has been recorded in Hickman County, Madison County, Carroll County, Van Buren County, Lauderdale County, Henry County, Coffee County, Marion County and Anderson County, respectively.
According to a Fox News report, the death in Hickman County was the result of a tragic accident.
An unidentified 66-year-old man reportedly died after falling 20 feet through a skylight on a roof and onto a concrete floor.
Last Monday, the General Assembly adjourned for the week amid the winter weather surge.
“Due to the extreme weather, dangerous temperatures and resulting treacherous road conditions, we have decided to close the Cordell Hull Building and cancel all official legislative meetings for the rest of the week,” said Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) at the time.
TEMA’s Sunday update was a hopeful one, noting that temperatures are expected to climb this week and that Tennesseans should see relief from the winter weather.
“The arctic cold of this last week is coming to an end with this week’s forecast including warmer temperatures and rain in all parts of Tennessee starting Monday and extending through Friday,” according to TEMA.
However, TEMA’s State of Emergency will remain in effect through this week.
“The State of Emergency declarations that TEMA Director Patrick C. Sheehan issued on behalf of Governor Bill Lee that waives commercial hours of service restrictions for vehicles transporting fuel, livestock, poultry, and feed for the livestock and poultry remains in effect until 3:59 p.m. Jan. 27,” the release said.
“The extreme cold continues to cause damage to drinking water infrastructure across Tennessee, and TEMA and TDEC expect that additional systems will experience problems or detect damages as temperatures thaw this coming week.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X / Twitter.
