Deep freeze takes over
Temperatures plunge; predicted snow and ice largely no show
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Clinton Utilities Board journey linemen Brian Connell and Logan Phillips work to repair a damaged powerline in the aftermath of the winter storm that passed through Anderson County last weekend. Dedicated power crews braved the weather all over the area to restore power to the communities they serve. - Daniel Moody/CUB
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An Oak Ridge power crew works to restore service on Sunday after the winter storm caused trees to disrupt power. - Daniel Moody/CUB
After considerable hype by meteorologists for more than a week, the huge winter storm predicted to cripple most of the Southeast rolled into Anderson County as a rather tame event on Saturday afternoon, and was over and done with by Sunday night.
And despite earlier predictions of 10 or more inches of snow — and even worse, a possibility of devasting ice coming from the storm — the Clinton area got barely a dusting of snow on Saturday afternoon, and mostly just heavy rainfall on Sunday as temperatures hovered above freezing.
By Monday morning, as temperatures dipped into the teens overnight, the roads had been mostly cleared by nature itself, along with various city and county road crews, leaving few problems for any Monday morning commuters who “dared” to venture out.
Because many people took the warnings seriously — as they probably should have — there weren’t many people out on the roads Monday morning.
On a commute from Andersonville through Norris into downtown Clinton on Monday morning, the roads were not only mostly clear, they were almost completely dry, as well, taking most of the danger out of the trip.
Still, many businesses and government entities were closed for the day, including schools, city and county offices, and, of course, schools.
Sunday’s heavy rains, though, were more reminiscent of spring storms than winter weather, and the usual rain hot spots lived up to their reputations — such as Irwin Mill Road, whose low-water bridge was under water well into Monday morning.
Clinton, Norris, Oak Ridge and Rocky Top city offices were closed for the day Monday, as was Anderson County government, the Anderson County trash convenience centers and landfill, city and county schools, some banks, and lots of other businesses.
Still, there were plenty of restaurants open – mostly fast food, but also Shoney’s in Clinton, among others. Walmart also was doing business as usual.
Clinton Utilities Board and Oak Ridge Utilities were out in force repairing downed power lines from trees that fell during the storms.
The Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department posted on its Facebook page that it had been out “clearing roadways of trees.”
The fallen trees and limbs seemed to be the worst of the storm’s effects locally.
