'Significant winter storm' to hit Tri-Cities with ice, snow

KINGSPORT — While the forecast has varied from day to day — even hour to hour — the National Weather Service's Morristown office has been steadfast in this message: a significant winter storm will hit the Tri-Cities this weekend. On Friday, NWS Morristown posted a model on its social media predicting Kingsport sees almost two-tenths of an inch of ice. Another model predicted two to three inches of snow. "The amounts are definitely subject to change, will change," Brandon Wasilewski, a meteorologist with NWS Morristown, told the Times News on Wednesday. "Regardless of what happens, be prepared. Make sure you have what you need at home and try to avoid travel through the weekend." Although this winter storm has drawn comparisons to the blizzard of 1993, it likely won't approach that level of severity. Wasilewksi said the blizzard's strong, low-pressure system from the northern Gulf of Mexico brought historic snowfall — 14.2 inches in the Tri-Cities — and bracing winds. "This [storm] is a very different set-up than that," Wasilewski said. "What we're seeing here is a frontal boundary stalled over the area, cold air in place. We're not expecting strong winds or really high snowfall rates." If there is eight inches of snow — which, on Wednesday, had a 15 to 20% chance — it will be the most snow the Tri-Cities has seen in a fall since December 2018. If there is 10 inches, it will be the most since February 1996 and only the eighth time the Tri-Cities has had a 10-inch snowstorm. "Now, let's say [the storm] trends more toward ice, which we've been seeing in the model data," Wasilewski said. "It has also been some time since we've seen a more widespread ice storm in our area — from what I've gathered: February of 2015." Ice storms are less common in the Tri-Cities, Wasilewski said, because the mountainous terrain makes it harder for air at the surface to be cold enough. Even without an "extremely high" amount of snow or ice, he said the combination of precipitations will be impactful. Additionally, with temperatures "struggling to get above freezing" next week, Wasilewski said it will probably be a while until the precipitation melts away. Safety Kingsport began applying salt brine to its roads Thursday morning, with staff set to maintain roads throughout the entirety of the storm. Salt brine is a mixture of salt and water used to pre-treat roads to melt snow when temperatures hover around freezing. Once snow accumulates, salt is applied. "Our main concern, based on the forecast, is what we're seeing Monday," Deputy City Manager Ryan McReynolds told the Times News in a previous interview. "[When] that cold, cold, cold temperature comes in, the salt becomes much, much less effective, so we're really hoping to get as much done as we can before that." If the storm is large, McReynolds said it could take 36 to 48 hours to clear all roads after the last snowflake hits. He encouraged residents to stay in and avoid getting on the roads until they are cleared. "We really appreciate the patience of our community," he said. "We'd encourage you to stay in until we can get the work done, but really, really do appreciate the patience." Kingsport is responsible for prepping and clearing all city and state roadways within the city, but not the interstates nor a section of John B. Dennis Highway. Those are maintained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. A press release from AAA warned that cold weather can cause car batteries to fail, while snow and ice impede tires' traction. If stranded by the road, the release said, stay inside your vehicle, turn on hazard lights and run the engine for about 10 minutes per hour while you wait for help. Another AAA press release advised homeowners to prevent frozen or burst pipes by letting faucets drip, leaving sink cabinet doors cracked and keeping the thermostat set above 55 degrees. Jorgelina Manna-Rea contributed reporting. She is a Report for America corps member reporting on issues related to the environment for Six Rivers Media.