Within an hour Thursday morning, Middle Tennessee streets went from almost dry to absolutely dangerous. Snow was falling at more than an inch an hour, reaching 7 inches in some places and resulting in hundreds of traffic accidents.
By mid-afternoon, Metro Police reported 172 crashes with 44 injury accidents.
Samantha Max WPLN NewsA Nashville Fire Department and a WeGo bus were involved in a collision on Jefferson St. that sent three people to the hospital with non-critical injuries.
Blake Farmer WPLN NewsCars creep down Granny White Pike in south Nashville. Snow covered streets, even those that were salted, within 30 minutes of beginning to fall.
Of note, a fire engine collided with a WeGo bus on Jefferson Street, resulting in three people being sent to the hospital with non-critical injuries. A semi-truck accident on I-24 near Hickory Hollow blocked traffic. Then I-24 at the Silliman Evans Bridge was closed because of a wreck.
Those stuck in traffic were left idling for hours.
Amy Vandenheuvel of Wisconsin was on her way home from Florida with her husband and sat in the backups considering whether to just call it a day.
“It’s just too stressful to keep going,” she said. “I don’t think anybody was prepared for that ice. It was extremely slick.”
Rachel Iacovone WPLN NewsA man brushes snow off a car in a Nashville apartment complex’s full parking lot. Most residents worked from home due to the weather.
A number of hilly thoroughfares and Interstate off-ramps had to be blocked because they were impassable and so many cars were stranded on the shoulders.
Outside Davidson County, a tractor trailer overturned after hitting a Tennessee Highway Patrol cruiser in Smith County. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office had 110 wrecks with 11 injuries.
Courtesy Tennessee Highway Patrol A wreck on I-65 near Brentwood involved 7 passenger cars and 2 commercial vehicles, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Traffic had to be routed onto Old Hickory Boulevard because the interstate was blocked.
Drivers knew the ice and snow was coming, and it hit more-or-less on schedule. But many had no choice but to brave the roads.
Mary Kathryn Oliver is a nurse practitioner in Gallatin who commutes from Nashville.
“We went in this morning and wanted to get everyone in that were newborns and that were sick and really needed to be seen,” she said. “As we know, illness doesn’t really listen to the weather.”
Once she saw the critical patients, she headed home and took her time. Ellington Parkway was dicey, she said, but she made it home safely to take her kids out to play.
“The kids just know it as another great day in the snow!” Oliver said.
Samantha Max WPLN NewsSnow blanketed Germantown by mid Thursday morning and brought normal life to a standstill for many across the region.
Paige Pfleger WPLN NewsA cardinal’s red plumage pops from the surrounding snowy white on Thursday morning.
North of Columbia, the National Weather Service says communities received between 4 and 7 inches. And many families took advantage.
“We love this weather. We love the snow,” said musician and mother Rachel McCarthy of East Nashville. “We love that the world kind of shuts down and everybody kind of slows down for a second and walks out into the middle of the street and slides down, right?”
Rose Gilbert WPLN NewsA sign blocks the road to avoid any car and sledder collisions.
But just 15 miles south of Columbia, there was basically no accumulation to speak of or snow to enjoy.
Toward the Alabama border, sleet and freezing rain caused their own problems. And hazardous travel is expected to continue with temperatures not forecast to rise above freezing until Saturday.
Tony Gonzalez WPLN NewsWithin the first 30 minutes, even treated roads were covered with snow on Thursday morning.
State offices will remain closed for a second day on Friday.
Caroline Eggers WPLN NewsThe snow brought sledders on everything from wood and plastic sleds to cardboard Thursday afternoon on the state’s Capitol Hill.
Though not much happened within the Capitol’s walls Thursday, as is tradition in Nashville any time the city gets snow that sticks, many people climbed its hill for some sledding.
Caroline Eggers WPLN NewsSledders, and a golden retriever, reach the bottom of the Capitol hill.
As is also custom, someone brought something a bit more professional to glide down the hill on — skis.
Caroline Eggers WPLN NewsA skier zooms past sledders on the snow-covered hill.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has activated its emergency operations center to coordinate the response, which is still largely focused on the hazardous driving conditions.
But their concern is also turning to the cold. Temperatures won’t get above freezing until Saturday. Nashville will keep its extreme cold weather shelter at 3230 Brick Church Pike open in the evenings until Saturday. But getting there will be difficult.
WeGo buses will pick people up at the downtown terminal after 7 p.m. Outreach workers can also drop off people needing a warm place to be at designated points around Davidson County to catch free vans to WeGo Central.
Rachel Iacovone WPLN NewsThe lights come on in residential homes and on street lamp posts as dusk sets in on Nashville’s first real snow day of the year.
WPLN’s Tony Gonzalez contributed reporting.
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