By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Days in advance, Shelby County residents and the rest of the Mid-South were warned about a winter storm coming to the area to coincide with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Around 2 p.m. on January 14, snowflakes appeared in the Memphis area leading to dropping temperatures and several inches of snow.
More wintry precipitation came across the Mid-South on the holiday leading to a chillyTuesday and more icy woes in the coming days.
A reported 3 to 5 inches of snow has been observed from the system. There were isolated heavier amounts of 5 to 7 inches along and south of I-40, and down into Northern Mississippi.
Once the last flake dropped from the sky, the air and surface temperatures were dangerously cold. Tuesday area schools including Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Millington Municipal Schools, Tipton County Schools and other municipalities were closed because of dangerous driving conditions. The high on Monday January 15 was 14 degrees in Memphis metro.
Memphis and the surrounding areas all fell below double digits later that night and into the following day. Wind chill values were below zero.
The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed one weather-related death in Shelby County from Monday. No further information about the fatality has been released at this time.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris declared a local state of emergency Monday afternoon after a wind chill advisory for sub-zero wind chills began Sunday evening and four to six inches of snow accumulated in the county. MLGW suspended cutoff services and warming centers were opened in Memphis.
Prior to the winter storm on January 13, the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) declared a state of emergency on behalf of Governor Bill Lee to provide commercial vehicles transporting fuel relief from hours of service until 3:59 p.m. Jan 27 due to the increased demand for fuels and energy.
