Tennessee ice storms...do you get them? (Memphis, Knoxville: power lines, tornado)

[Mrs.Bewitched]

I was reading a post in GA, and I remember getting them in PA...where the ice was so bad it broke power lines so you wouldn't have electricity, and then it would freeze the water lines so that you wouldn't have water, or they would have to be digging up the street in front of your house, and hopefully not hitting you with the bill! If any parts of TN gets ice storms, could you name those parts?? Thanks!

[insanesmooch]

The worst ice storm I can recall hearing about was in Nashville in early 1994. I wasn't living there at the time; I was in Knoxville and we did not get that storm. Really, that is the only one I recall hearing of and of all the years I can remember I do not recall experiencing one. A year or two ago there was a threat of one, but it stayed south- like Atlanta. The company I was working for had the headquarters in Atlanta and we heard about it, but it didn't come that far north. I don't think that one made it to Chatanooga either.

[rescue1]

Tennessee most of the time will get more ice storms than snow storms. The last big one as stated caught all the utilities with there pants down. They were ill prepared for the big storm. After that one they went on a mass tree cutting camphine to get limbs off the lines. If you live out in the wilderness you maybe without electricity for 2--3--4 weeks. Most of the time get a little ice gone by noon except in the shade.

[hiknapster]

You are from PA and worried about ice storms? Is this gettting stranger by the moment?

[TomNashville]

That ice storm was mostly in Memphis... at least, I lived in Memphis at the time and it got hit really bad.

Tennessee seems to get ice more often than it gets snow, and it can get bad. Driving in it is an adventure because Tennesseeans aren't used to driving in it and some of them try to drive like they normally do.

[Mrs.Bewitched]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

You are from PA and worried about ice storms? Is this gettting stranger by the moment?

I am sorry, I don't quite understand that comment...is it strange for me to worry about ice storms for the fact that I come from PA and I should be accustomed to them? I am trying to understand that comment without putting more into it.

Yes, PA did get them quite a bit, and snow storms. My husband is a mailman, and unfortunately, despite weather conditions, mail is still expected to be delivered. So we made a temporary move to FL just to get things in order (about 2-3 years), and my husband has not been accustomed to not having to deal with ANY of that mess, nor have his fingers fall off the bone...and he likes it.
But, I am more of a country girl despite living in Philly part of Pa, so nothing rural about that...but I want to be in a spot that has cooler weather, and we are trying to comprimise on states-where there will be warm weather, and cool weather...but not PA weather (the ice storms every year...snow storms almost every year, not to mention the heat waves every year that killed people...)

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by mrshvo

I am sorry, I don't quite understand that comment...is it strange for me to worry about ice storms for the fact that I come from PA and I should be accustomed to them? I am trying to understand that comment without putting more into it.

Yes, PA did get them quite a bit, and snow storms. My husband is a mailman, and unfortunately, despite weather conditions, mail is still expected to be delivered. So we made a temporary move to FL just to get things in order (about 2-3 years), and my husband has not been accustomed to not having to deal with ANY of that mess, nor have his fingers fall off the bone...and he likes it.
But, I am more of a country girl despite living in Philly part of Pa, so nothing rural about that...but I want to be in a spot that has cooler weather, and we are trying to comprimise on states-where there will be warm weather, and cool weather...but not PA weather (the ice storms every year...snow storms almost every year, not to mention the heat waves every year that killed people...)

I surely know what you're talking about; you want to go somewhere where the weather isn't as bad as the place from which you're coming. The poster should have realized that. That's like someone asking me, "You're questioning tornadoes and heat and you're coming from Texas." That's precisely the reason for the questions; I want less tornado threats and less heat.

Good luck on your search, and take care!!

[ridgetop]

You can drive on snow......ice is another matter all together.

[Dd714]

Ice storms in TN are probably no more likely than the rest of the US except the extreme south. You get ice storms in Canada and in Georgia and in Texas. We (the posters here) probably tend to exaggerate them here because we get more ice than snow.

Then again we have that unique weather pattern - warm Gulf of Mexico mouisture moves north and hits a cold front coming south. The result is never pretty - warm wet rain falls into that cold air at the surface and everything ices up.