By Keith Sherley, (February 17, 2015 — The advice from authorities is if you don’t have to get out then stay home.
The roadways are icy making travel hazardous. The icy roads have caused dozens of wrecks. Add to that the problem that some essential personnel are having trouble getting to work.
The west Tennessee area received mostly freezing rain and sleet beginning early Monday morning and continuing throughout the morning and afternoon. Some areas recorded as much as 2 inches or more.
State of emergency declared for Tennessee
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has declared a state of emergency as of 9 p.m. Monday, blaming road conditions following the winter storms, according to the agency’s website.
Motorists are backed up on two major interstates and numerous counties are requesting assistance, the site states.
TEMA has activated the Tennessee Emergency Management Plan, and response actions include requesting the Tennessee National Guard for State Active Duty to deploy initially a 10-person crew with five Humvees for motorist wellness checks.
In our area some roads are impassable, the main roads such as the US 45 ByPass and hwy 412 are open but motorists are encouraged to go slow and leave plenty of distance between vehicles.
The weather has caused numerous closings. Public schools and private schools in the county and most surrounding area are closed.
With temps not expected to climb above freezing today the conditions are not expected to improve anytime soon.
