Snow in Tennessee

The Blizzard of 2011-01-11

Snow in Tennessee

We thought we might get a little snow. Our snow always comes from the south. If it comes from the west it looses all its moisture crossing the plateau and by the time it backs up against the Appalachians, it is just cold or rain. The weather models called for three to five inches of snow and more south of us as the jet stream brought cold air south from Canada and moist air north from the Gulf of Mexico.

At midnight there was still no snow. There was a dusting early in the morning and Jennifer took a snapshot of the deck when it first turned white to preserve the memory is case that was all we got. I slept quietly in the down stairs room oblivious to the weather outside.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a big drift in the crotch of the tree visible from the window. I was surprised how the snow had collected there. Then I stepped to the window and looked at the ground. Everything was covered. There was a deep layer of powder covering the woods and yard.

I bundled up and took Smash outside. He loved romping in the deep powder. Getting snow at all in Southeast Tennessee is rare. Normally we get slush and it melts quickly so you have to get out early to see any of it.

So Smash and I headed for the creek. Only one unknown animal had crossed the path that morning. We left the first tracks in the snow. I stood and looked out at the ice on the fast flowing Cohulla Creek. The small branch that flows across my property was covered in a thin layer of ice. Smash wanted to go on his normal rounds in the woods but he decided to turn back and follow me.

Just as we were heading back to the house, Smash suggested one trail and I was returning on another, we heard noises from above. Jennifer and Caleb were making their way down to the creek. Janice had wisely elected to stay warm and thankfully make us pancakes.

I waited for them to make it down to the creek and we enjoyed the stillness of the forest draped in white. We hiked back up the hill to the house.

After some warm pancakes, I decided to get Scuffy out of the barn and go for a ride in the snow. I plowed through the snow easily and after a circle around the driveway, I decided to go see how the main road looked. There was a good eight to ten inches every where. There must have been some deeper drifts in the driveway because in some places you could see where the diff had drug in the center between the tracks of the Maxxis Buckshots.

Janice and Jennifer squeezed into the passenger racing bucket seat together and we drove out to the road. Scuffy climbed the hill easily but the engine was running really rough. Thinking back to the last time I got gas I realized it was on the way to Harlan for the fall crawl. So it could be that the low fuel light actually meant something this time. The big engine sputtered a few times but we made it to the road and back. It looked like only one of my neighbors had ventured out. Keith Valley road was still completely covered in snow.

Since Scuffy was running so poorly, I put him back in the barn before I got stranded. We then took Jennifer’s Jeep Princess out for a romp in the snow. Her Dick Cepek Crushers did well in the snow too.

Out at the main road I popped the transfer case into two wheel drive for a moment and spun a 180 to head back to the house. I put it back into 4wd just to be safe.

With Princess safely back on the porch, we decided to try the sled. The snow was too deep and fluffy for my steel runner style sled to go down. It kept getting buried in the snow. It looked like it would be an all day job to use the shovel and pack down a path for the sled. So Jennifer suggested that I use Princess to pack the snow.

I drove around the driveway and then pointed her Jeep up our sled run. It climbed easily to the top. I lost traction briefly near the crest but I just let the tires turn slowly until they got grip again so as not to spin out all our snow.

With two compressed paths down the hill we were soon able to work out a nice sled run. Smash enjoyed chasing us up and down the hill. He also provided entertainment between runs by grabbing a mouthful of snow and then laying on his back with his feet in the air and wiggling around like he was making a snow angle. He did this several times and I laughed so hard I hurt every time he did it.

Eventually we tired of trekking up and down the hill and packed it in. Janice made us some yummy Carroll Shelby Chili.

I decided to brave the roads and go get some gas for Scuffy. I expected the main roads to be clear with the crews having all day to work on them. We all loaded up in Princess. Caleb did not understand why he needed to get dressed. He was sure that PJ pants and no shirt was plenty for a trip to town. We waited while his mom encouraged him to at least take warmer clothes with him.

When I reached Keith Valley I was surprised to see it looked much the same as it did on my earlier venture. There was a tiny strip of pavement visible in the oncoming lane but the rest of the road was covered in snow and slush. The worst part about driving on it was that most people who had gone ahead of us had driven near the center of the road. There was still deep snow near the shoulder making it difficult to see where the road ended and the deep ditch began.

I had no trouble driving in the snow, but meeting oncoming traffic was difficult due to having to move over into the deeper stuff. And occasionally the people coming toward me wanted to use part of my lane as well even though they had more room than I did.

I was expecting Spring Place Road to be clear because it is a State Highway and they usually run plows and salt trucks even when there is no snow. Boy was I surprised. I had noticed Jennifer getting a bit nervous each time I met someone so I asked her how she felt about my continuing on in her Jeep to the gas station. She bravely encouraged me to go on.

I did a fun drift out onto the Sate Highway and then settled back into what looked like my lane. The road was completely covered in snow at that point. However just over the hill, ruts in each lane made it down to the pavement.

About halfway into town, we met a road grader plowing in the opposite direction. The inbound lane I was using was still pretty slick but easily passable in 4wd.

The gas station did not look like it had seen much activity during the day as there were just a few tracks in their parking lot. I filled my gas can with 93 octane while Jennifer refueled Princess. I would have just stolen fuel from one of my other Jeeps but none of them had the 93 octane that Scuffy’s racing engine requires.

I was fully expecting to catch the road grader as we headed back home. I was using two wheel drive as I drove along now in the dark. Then, suddenly, not far from where we had met the grader on our way into town, we hit snow covered road again. I was happy for the shift on the fly capability of the 231 transfer case as I moved the lever to 4H just as we hit the edge of the snow and ice. I guess the Grader operator had reached the end of his shift but I did not notice where he parked it.

We drove on snow and ice back to the turn on Keith Valley. We could see flashing brake lights near the turn. It looked like some one had a stalled truck and was being serviced in the middle of the road. I guess you have to work on it where it dies but thankfully he was just past our turn off.

The return trip was not so bad because I was able to easily drive on my side of the road. I did have a little trouble with oncoming traffic not wanting to stay on their side but I could easily slow down and let them slip past. Having two tires on wet pavement and two in snow and ice made for much firmer footing. However the lock right locker did make a few unexpected disengagements and sudden reengagements.

I later went out a poured the fuel into Scuffy and made sure it ran OK. Then we used Princess to tow the trash can out to the road just in case the trash truck decided to brave the weather.

This morning I made a few more sled runs before pointing Scuffy toward town. Keith Valley was slushier than the night before and easier to stay on my side of the road. There were still some drifts on the northbound lane.

I switched into 2wd at Spring Place Road. It still did not look plowed or salted but it was more slush than ice or snow. I am not used to driving Scuffy on pavement and with the still aired down Maxxis Buckshots, it was a bit wiggly but 45 MPH was no problem.

I saw a snow plow on HWY 64 and I accelerated up to 55 to match traffic. I got the hang of the wiggles caused by aired down tires and no sway bars.

In town I was surprised that at the busy intersection of 25th and Keith St, there was still a lot of snow. I stayed in 2wd but that caused a little dance in the rear as I accelerated from the stop light.

Westside drive leading toward my office looked like it had been plowed and salted. But Norman Chapel road and the Adkisson Drive in front of the Cleveland State Campus looked worse than Keith Valley. I put my Jeep back in 4wd to get over the speed humps.

As I pulled into the office I was met by the UPS truck. She was trying to back up to one of the bay doors but not doing too well. She eventually gave up and turned around. She had no trouble going forward. There was only a couple of cars in the office parking lot and it has been very quiet here so far today.