Snow tops expectations, with 8 inches for some pockets of Middle Tennessee

Snowfall has far surpassed forecasts in parts of Middle Tennessee.

Preliminary reports gathered by the National Weather Service include snow totals of up to 8 inches in Bedford County, 7 inches in Rutherford County and 5 inches in parts of Williamson and Wilson counties. Lower totals included 1 inch in Clarksville and just over 1 inch at the Nashville International Airport.

The winter weather initially caused more than 60,000 power outages, with pockets impacted southeast of Nashville and larger outages in East Tennessee.

NWS Meteorologist Sam Herron says the cold front arrived with high winds in the upper atmosphere, and that the narrow band with the most intense snowfall was tricky to anticipate. When it arrived, that band dropped more than 2 inches per hour.

“I think it is shocking for people’s sense, because this early winter has been so unusually warm. And when we return to what really should be winter — at least briefly — it’s just a shock to everyone,” Herron said.

Tony Gonzalez WPLN News

Just over 1 inch of snow was measurable in Nashville, but accumulations ranged from 5 inches in Williamson County to 8 inches in Bedford County.

For some, the region’s seesawing temperatures gave families a sense of urgency to get out and enjoy the snow.

“So we have lots of warm gear, so we were super-prepared. I don’t know if we had the patience to put it all on at that moment,” said Jessica Vaughn, of Smyrna, who raced outside with her husband and two sons. “We’re the family that’s playing in our cul-de-sac and throwing as much snow as we can manage to gather, which was a lot this time around.”

While some areas will re-freezes Monday night, warmer temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday should melt off whatever has lingered. There is another chance for snow — though not as much — on Thursday and then again over the weekend.

Reported Sunday

Temperatures will plummet across Middle Tennessee and a chance of snow on Sunday could complicate commutes by Monday morning.

The National Weather Service now says snow accumulation could be 1 to 3 inches, particularly on grassy or elevated surfaces, and less so on warm paved areas and roads.

The snow totals were increased around midday Sunday. Still, there could be essentially no accumulation to the northwest of Nashville and somewhat more to the east and on the Cumberland Plateau.

Forecasters have issued a Winter Weather Advisory from 3 p.m. Sunday until 3 a.m. Monday morning, noting that roadways could become slick — especially on the plateau — from Sunday evening through Monday morning.

The temperature by early Monday will be in the 20s, and it will feel like it’s in the teens because of the wind chill.

The cold will also impact city services:

• It will be cold enough that Metro Social Services is activating its cold weather shelter plan. The facility is at 3230 Brick Church Pike and will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. As part of that plan, outreach workers and WeGo buses provide free transportation (details here).
• Davidson County’s COVID assessment centers will shift to cold hours Monday — opening at noon Monday instead of 8 a.m., but staying open an extra hour, until 3 p.m. Those centers are located at 2491 Murfreesboro Pike and at 350 28th Ave. N.

How much snow?

Some uncertainty about the snow remains.

The weather service is confident that the rain will turn to snow, but forecasters are hedging about the amount of accumulation. That’s in part because ground temperatures are warm and could make it hard for snow to stick — but also because there’s a chance for a narrow band of heavier snow to drop 3 inches in some pockets.

Courtesy National Weather Service

This graphic shows when rain could turn to snow across Middle Tennessee on Sunday evening.

This story was last updated at 8 p.m. Monday.