While Knoxville just got wet, Upper East Tennessee (what oldtimers call what’s Politiclaly Correctly called Northeast Tennessee now) got hit by a massive snowstorm Friday.
OK, I’ve driven throgh snow many times before and was in my trusty Jeep Grand Cherokee, so I wasn’t worried as Roger William and I left UT Campus toward the Model City (that’s Kingsport) after 5 p.m. Friday. A nice evening of Plum Tree Chinese food and viewing of Christmas Vacation awaited.
All was well as we made our way up I-40 and veered onto I-81. Traffic began to get heavier and slower but kept moving until we were in the northern part of Greene County (past the Jearoldstown Exit). All of a sudden, traffic came to a complete stop. Every now and again we would move 20 or 30 yards and get excited that we were going to get home after all, only to find things at a standstill again. The pattern would repeat itself many times. Wife Susan had the foresight to get Plum Tree take-out early, but numerous phone calls from her let us know that the power at home was out, so there was no way to heat that meal. Fortunately, we had a bag of chips and jar of salsa left over from the Clarence Brown Theatre Box Office party to sustain us. Knoxville radio let us know that they hadn’t seen a snowflake there — that was no comfort at all.
Occasionally we would a tow truck moving quickly on the right shoulder (sometimes followed by ’smart’ people who we might later pass), but law enforcement and TDOT trucks were no where to be seen. I suppose they were working somewhere, but were invisible in the places that mattered where the I-81 convoy was trying to move.) Drivers felt like the Interstate was just abandoned.
Eventually we did make it to the Tri-Cities and took about 10 minutes to manuever down the Colonial Heights exit ramp (I-26 West ramp looked really iffy), trying now to run into vehicles abandoned on both sides. The snow and ice covered Interstate gave way to clear Kingsport City Streets. Apparently, it was possible to do something about driving conditions — perhaps TDOT could learn from them!
We made our way home, noticing that there was sort of a ‘checkerboard’ pattern of lights — it was getting close to 2 a.m. — some neighborhoods had power, some didn’t.
After making two attempts at driving Catholic Hill, we had to back down and go a different route into Fair Acres and finally made it home.
It took 8 1/2 hours to travel from Knoxville to Kingsport.
And of course we arrived to a house without power. My wife was not happy (and she was cold!).
We bundled up and made it through the night, but morning calls to the automated power outage line were increasingly vague as to when electricity might be restored. Susan said it might be Tuesday night, so we gathered up our things and checked into the Marriott Resort and Conference Center to regain some level of creature comforts. (In addition, Roger William had to file a newspaper story and couldn’t do it from a powerless, connectivity-less house).
We took care of essentials — eating, showering, and powering up electronic devices. In the lobby, we’ve run into numerous friends and acquaintances in the same powerless boat. As homeless shelters go, this one is pretty nice.
Tomorrow we’ll head back to Knoxville/Maryville area and put the snowstorm behind, hoping that power is restored at my Kingsport house by the time I come back after finishing Christmas Carol paperwork Monday.
