Two deaths in Sumner County have been attributed to the winter storm, bringing Tennessee’s death toll to 10. Additional deaths in the Nashville-area were recorded in Dickson, Maury and Williamson counties.
Power outages, meanwhile, continued into their seventh day. The state counted 7,600 people without power and many ongoing sheltering and warming center operations. The largest concentration of outages continued to challenge Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation, including in Putnam, Overton and Jackson counties. Recovery is still expected to take several more days.
The region has begun a slow thaw, with temperatures above freezing on Saturday. The National Weather Service says Nashville’s seven consecutive days below freezing was the fifth-longest run on record. The longest, at 9 days, happened in 1877 and again in 1899.
Metro reported that an average of 168 people have been staying at the city’s extreme cold overflow shelter in the past week, with a peak of 217 on Wednesday night. Cold patrols, which consist of eight to 10 people, handed out more than 300 blankets in the past week and transported more than a dozen people to shelters.
Looking ahead, rain could fall Sunday night before temperatures rise into the 60s by Tuesday and Wednesday.
Most Metro facilities are expecting to reopen Monday, with trash and recycling collection to resume (those who missed recycling pickup for the prior week are due for collection in the coming week). And the health department resumed COVID-19 vaccinations at the Music City Center on Saturday.
Water challenges in Memphis
Meanwhile in the Memphis area, residents are still experiencing problems with water pressure and water outages, and a boil-water advisory remains in place. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency says eight water tankers have been sent to Shelby County to assist with potable water.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM