State officials reported storm fatalities in Crockett, Dyer and Obion counties in West Tennessee, and in Haywood County in East Tennessee.
At the peak Sunday, more than 300,000 people were still without power after sunset. As of 8 a.m. Monday, there were 250,000 outages in Tennessee and about 150,000 in Davidson County.
Outages set a record for NES in Davidson County.
Brent Baker with NES said the utility is scrambling to respond, but that it was a complicated situation with so many lines down and the number of outages climbing.
“We are letting people know this is going to be a prolonged event. Likely multiple days,” he said Sunday afternoon.
NES reported more than 70 broken poles.
Drinking water facilities are also impacted — but still providing water — in nine counties.
In addition to the power grid and roads, this winter storm is impacting communications infrastructure.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency says some areas of the state have reduced cellular service due to power loss and ice damage. When regular calls are not possible, cell phones can still be used to call 911. But officials emphasize that number is only for life-threatening emergencies.
Warming centers
In a rare move, Metro is opening fire stations and most police precincts — not Central or East — as warming centers. But if you need to leave your home to get warm, officials are urging caution. Warmth is available around the clock, but most of the centers do not have overnight accommodations.
The Nashville Fairgrounds is one exception, says Metro Police Chief John Drake.
“The fairgrounds would probably be the first location that you can go because we’ve got cots set up and we’ve got Red Cross members there,” he said during a Sunday briefing. “We’ll have the ability to feed.”
Two Metro Parks Community Centers — Southeast in Antioch and Madison — will also have cots.
Statewide, there are more than 100 warming centers open, with varying local hours and availability.
‘Impossible’ and dangerous travel
A federal disaster has been declared for all 95 counties. Gov. Bill Lee said Sunday that the declaration will support winter storm operations and recovery.
Nashville International Airport’s air traffic control tower reopened Monday morning, and the airfield is operational again. But the winter storm is affecting many flights.
Downed trees have blocked roads in many areas, and the National Weather Service describes travel as “dangerous to impossible.” Much of the pretreatment, like brine, that was applied to roads ahead of this winter storm has been washed away.
- In Nashville, WeGo suspended service at 7:45 a.m., citing the weather disrupting communication infrastructure that connects with buses. Limited hours were later restored for part of the day.
- The Tennessee Department of Transportation reported more than 800 incidents in roughly the first 24 hours of the storm.
- The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported 36 crashes with injuries, more than 100 vehicles damaged and more than 150 obstructed roads — many from fallen trees. A few dozen additional vehicles have been abandoned.
Nashville Department of Transportation Director Phillip Jones warned that Monday’s road conditions will likely be even worse. Ice melting and then re-freezing creates the dreaded “black ice.”
“It’s a little more treacherous than what we had earlier, just because you can’t see it,” he said. “It looks like the road may be clear, but it’ll be a solid sheet of ice.”
Foreboding forecast
Meteorologists increased the expected ice accumulations for the state, and as of Sunday morning another half-inch of ice was still expected across a long swath of Middle Tennessee — including in Nashville.
The forecast for the week is foreboding. The weather service continues to warn of prolonged impacts, with temperatures likely to remain below freezing into next weekend, with few brief exceptions. For people without power, the temperatures will be dangerously cold.
The depth of the freeze will be at its worst overnight Monday into Tuesday, with the temperature in the single digits.
NWS meteorologist Faith Borden says a big concern is “flash freezing.”
“Any moisture will immediately freeze on the surface,” she said.
Another concern: Wind. Gusts could reach 25 mph on Monday. That usually wouldn’t be an issue — it’s really just a strong breeze. But it means even more pressure on trees and power lines.
Statewide impacts
East Tennessee is under a cold weather advisory until Tuesday. Ongoing heavy rain is forecasted to freeze over as temperatures drop to as low as single digits Monday. That means roads that were already pretreated may see some ice patches.
“We are dependent on those road crews to make sure they’re getting out there and seeing what roads are drying up on their own and what needs to be treated again as we have this extended freeze for the start of the new week,” said Heather Haley, a meteorologist with WUOT in Knoxville.
Warming centers in Knoxville are also preparing for an uptick in people seeking shelter as temperatures drop. Four centers across the city are scheduled to open tonight, including the nonprofit seasonal shelter ReLAUNCH in downtown.
ReLAUNCH was one of the few shelters that were open at the start of the storm Saturday due to anticipated road conditions. The nonprofit reached its capacity quickly, prompting officials to more than double that number to 130 people. Executive Director Linda Conaway said she’s prepared to serve at least an additional 200 people during the extended freeze.
“We haven’t had this long stretch of cold yet this season,” she said. “Everybody’s going to need the opportunity to reset and reinforce … because a lot of folks just won’t be prepared for this length of cold.”
So far, several hundreds of people have sought shelter in downtown Knoxville during the ice storm.
This post was last updated at 10:30 a.m. EST Monday, 01/26/2026.
