Your Average TN Snowfall

[SCraig]

We had, what is for us, an "Average" snowfall overnight. Maybe an inch of snow in places. People around here cannot handle snow, and this one was no exception. Wrecks EVERYWHERE. Interstate 65 was a parking lot, several of the main highways were parking lots. The roads in places were absolutely horrible since the highway department, in their usual efficient manner, waited until it had already started melting about mid-morning to spread salt.

This is the Welcome Center at Edwin Warner Park taken this morning before the snow melted, and it typifies an "Average" snowfall for middle Tennessee.

 

[sm4him]

Yep, that looks about the same as East TN. Well, of course, the mountains more often really DO get snow, several inches, but the Valley will get nothing or maybe a dusting. I'm a bit south, toward the mountains, so I sometimes get more than "average."

Today, I think we're going to get nothing. It keeps snowing like crazy, the ground gets covered, then it stops and it all melts off quickly. Then an hour later, it starts again. So, we've gotten about an inch so far, but it's been in 1.8 inch increments that melt off in between.
They're still calling for a bigger round of it after 6 tonight, so we'll see.

 

[rlemert]

I regularly talk to people from Vermont, Boston, and Canada in the course of my job, so I know better than to complain about "the miserable winter conditions" here in NC. I do remind them, though, that I have to deal with southern drivers while in those conditions. That's where I get my sympathy.

 

[SCraig]

Yep, that looks about the same as East TN. Well, of course, the mountains more often really DO get snow, several inches, but the Valley will get nothing or maybe a dusting. I'm a bit south, toward the mountains, so I sometimes get more than "average."

Today, I think we're going to get nothing. It keeps snowing like crazy, the ground gets covered, then it stops and it all melts off quickly. Then an hour later, it starts again. So, we've gotten about an inch so far, but it's been in 1.8 inch increments that melt off in between.
They're still calling for a bigger round of it after 6 tonight, so we'll see.

Well, it's after 6 your time and looking at the radar it looks like there isn't a lot left in Tennessee so I guess you're safe Ours is gone completely, and this afternoon was mostly clear.

I regularly talk to people from Vermont, Boston, and Canada in the course of my job, so I know better than to complain about "the miserable winter conditions" here in NC. I do remind them, though, that I have to deal with southern drivers while in those conditions. That's where I get my sympathy.

Absolutely correct. If we DID get big snows as they do in the northern states it would truly stop this area from functioning entirely.

A few years ago we had a decent snowfall, maybe 3 or 4 inches, that started about 3:00 in the afternoon. I left the office at 4:00 and it was starting to get slick so I called the office to let everyone know. One of the engineers had to stay until 5:00 before she could pick up her kids, and she told me the next day that it was 10:00 that night before she finally got home. The bad thing about it is that she lives less than 5 miles from the office, and picking up her kids was only a couple of more miles. People who don't live around this part of the country would never believe how bad traffic gets when it snows.

 

[Onerider]

This is all we got further south on the plateau.

 

[SCraig]

This is all we got further south on the plateau.

I wondered how it was in that area. I have a friend who lives in Crossville and have been meaning to send him an email all day and find out. Looks about the same as it did here this morning.

 

[sm4him]

Yeah, I never even saw another flurry after 6. They missed this one--but after the ice storm a week ago, and getting over 4 inches the week before that, I can't say I'm sorry that the weathermen missed this one!

In the snow two weeks ago, it came right on the heels of three days of heavy rains--in fact, the rains just changed into snow after three days. So city crews weren't able to even attempt to treat the roads--now, THAT was a mess!! I work for our transit system, and part of my job is to keep the public informed when we go on snow routes, etc--so I end up working VERY long days, from 3:30 a.m. when dispatch calls me with our status until 11:30 p.m. when the buses stop running--just another reason to hate the snow! But I do get to do all that work from home.

Anyway--I'd left work about 4:15 so that I could get started with updates because we were going on snow routes at 5:15. It took me 45 minutes to get home--I live TWO miles from work! And I almost didn't make it--I couldn't get up the last hill to my house. I gave up and reversed down the hill, watched two other people attempt it unsuccessfully and then went a different way that was still hilly, but just enough that I was about to get over the crest of the hill and slide into home base. Literally.

Later that evening, I started to hear from everyone else, and much like what Scott said, it took many of them four and five hours to get home, when it usually took them 15 to 30 minutes. Made me exceedingly glad I'd left when I did!

In this instance, they COULDN'T really treat the roads. But the fact is, we just don't invest in the kind of equipment most Northern cities have, because it doesn't happen often enough to warrant it.

So yeah, we Southerners kinda stink at wintery road conditions. But as I OFTEN say, there is a REASON I live in South! I don't WANT to learn to deal with the snow! :lmao:

 

[sm4him]

This is all we got further south on the plateau.

I wondered how it was in that area. I have a friend who lives in Crossville and have been meaning to send him an email all day and find out. Looks about the same as it did here this morning.

My oldest son lives in Murfreesboro; he sent me a picture this morning that looked like they got about the same as well.

 

[greybeard]

Very nice, It is snowing here in WV now.

 

[SCraig]

Yeah, I never even saw another flurry after 6. They missed this one--but after the ice storm a week ago, and getting over 4 inches the week before that, I can't say I'm sorry that the weathermen missed this one!

In the snow two weeks ago, it came right on the heels of three days of heavy rains--in fact, the rains just changed into snow after three days. So city crews weren't able to even attempt to treat the roads--now, THAT was a mess!! I work for our transit system, and part of my job is to keep the public informed when we go on snow routes, etc--so I end up working VERY long days, from 3:30 a.m. when dispatch calls me with our status until 11:30 p.m. when the buses stop running--just another reason to hate the snow! But I do get to do all that work from home.

Anyway--I'd left work about 4:15 so that I could get started with updates because we were going on snow routes at 5:15. It took me 45 minutes to get home--I live TWO miles from work! And I almost didn't make it--I couldn't get up the last hill to my house. I gave up and reversed down the hill, watched two other people attempt it unsuccessfully and then went a different way that was still hilly, but just enough that I was about to get over the crest of the hill and slide into home base. Literally.

Later that evening, I started to hear from everyone else, and much like what Scott said, it took many of them four and five hours to get home, when it usually took them 15 to 30 minutes. Made me exceedingly glad I'd left when I did!

In this instance, they COULDN'T really treat the roads. But the fact is, we just don't invest in the kind of equipment most Northern cities have, because it doesn't happen often enough to warrant it.

So yeah, we Southerners kinda stink at wintery road conditions. But as I OFTEN say, there is a REASON I live in South! I don't WANT to learn to deal with the snow! :lmao:

We had that same ice forecast a couple of weeks ago but it never materialized, thankfully. One of the guys in my office lives near Springfield and he said that they got quite a bit there, but here on the south side of Nashville all we got was rain. I've been through a couple of major ice storms, and if I never have to go through another one it will suit me just fine.

My oldest son lives in Murfreesboro; he sent me a picture this morning that looked like they got about the same as well.

I met a friend in Murfreesboro for breakfast a couple of years ago, and all we got here was a dusting of snow. Murfreesboro, on the other hand, had about 6 inches. I stopped at Cannonsburgh after we ate and took a bunch of pictures. That place is beautiful in the snow.

Another time I met the same friend in Murfreesboro for breakfast and rode one of my motorcycles since it was about 40 degrees here. About halfway between Nashville and Murfreesboro I hit some freezing fog that instantly turned my face shield completely opaque. I snapped my faceshield up and it instantly turned my glasses opaque. I knew there was an exit ahead and I could see the white line on the edge of the interstate out of the corner of my eye so I followed it when it turned off I-24. Luckily there was nobody ahead of me that had slowed down because I would not have seen them. Not something I wish to repeat.

 

[SCraig]

Very nice, It is snowing here in WV now.

You probably get more snow there than we do here. Maybe not a lot, but probably a bit more. WV has some gorgeous areas, and I intend to get back over there and roam around one of these days.

 

[greybeard]

WV yesterday morning 9 degrees

 

[SCraig]

WV yesterday morning 9 degrees

Yeah, a bit more

We get one like that every few years but that's about it.

 

[oldhippy]

Listen guys, my butt just got unraveled from a trip yesterday.Daisy Mea MIL was out of meds..Had to go. Way different here, than Chicago.There your in sombody's lawn. Here our a** is down the mountain. About 5 miles of icy roads. I'm to old for this s**t . later Ed
P.S. And I only thought they named kids
daisy mea in Lil Abner

 

[SCraig]

Listen guys, my butt just got unraveled from a trip yesterday.Daisy Mea MIL was out of meds..Had to go. Way different here, than Chicago.There your in sombody's lawn. Here our a** is down the mountain. About 5 miles of icy roads. I'm to old for this s**t . later Ed
P.S. And I only thought they named kids
daisy mea in Lil Abner

Yeah, and in general you'll find that people in Chicago can drive under those conditions a bit better, and Chicago is better equipped to handle snow and ice removal.