Mild Winters ? (Knoxville, Seymour: house, living, vacation)

[joez0927]

I just purchased a house in Seymour as a Vacation and then Retirement home. One of the selling points was the 4 seasons weather unlike our two seasons in FL (Hot and Hotter) I read and was told about the 'Mild Winters' in Tennesee. The weather today is supposed to be 35 for a high and 13 for a low. Is this normal for a Tennessee 'mild winter'
After I bought the house on Oct , I left the heat set at 50 degrees. I am coming up for New Years Eve and hope I don't have a skating ring in the living room.
Thanks - Joe Z

[JMT]

Winters here in East Tennessee are indeed "mild" but the temperatures fluctuate. I remember one Christmas it was 17 below zero, but another Christmas it was in the 70s. It's not unusual to have a deep freeze here, but those rarely last more than a day or two.

I think the most exciting time of the year for me (and the most romantic) is the first snowfall. I can't wait!

[mbmouse]

I think Boris is pulling your leg?????? Or maybe he/she lives on the far north west side of TN?
Not sure but I have lived here for 10 years, my husband born and raised here. Never have we know of 17 below. 17 sometimes yes, but not every year. I believe there was one winter in 93, I think, where they had almost a foot of snow that hung around a few days and the temps did get into single digits. Last year we had 3 or 4 days of snow, 2 inches max, not all in the same week either and it melted same day. Personally I wish there was a bit more snow! hahahahha
I am in North /east TN which is not close to Seymour, but our weather is about the same as Knoxville. I believe we get more snow than Knoxville here?
Your thermostat set at 50 sounds to me like a smart choice but as it is getting colder now, we are expected to get down into the teens over the next few nights, you might want to call someone to turn it up a few notches on the really cold nights. Did you leave a key with someone? If not, as long as there is power and your heat is in good working order, 50 should keep your pipes from freezing.
This time of year it is not uncommon for 20-30 degree spreads throughout a 12 hour span. My knees could do without that.

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by joez0927

I just purchased a house in Seymour as a Vacation and then Retirement home. One of the selling points was the 4 seasons weather unlike our two seasons in FL (Hot and Hotter) I read and was told about the 'Mild Winters' in Tennesee. The weather today is supposed to be 35 for a high and 13 for a low. Is this normal for a Tennessee 'mild winter' Thanks - Joe Z

It's all relative. Mild compared to the upper mid-west or Canada maybe. Cold compared to Florida. It's like people that complain about the 15 inches of snow they get a year, forgetting there are many places that get 15 FEET of snow a year.

[Jim280]

Boris Winters here in East Tennessee are indeed "mild" but the temperatures fluctuate. I remember one Christmas it was 17 below zero, but another Christmas it was in the 70s. It's not unusual to have a deep freeze here, but those rarely last more than a day or two.

I think the most exciting time of the year for me (and the most romantic) is the first snowfall. I can't wait!




You must be refering to wind chill factor of 17 below, right. If we had a actual temp that low... I must have been hibernating that winter.

[insanesmooch]

I was walking by a tv with the weather channel on it Tues. and it was showing that we are having a spell of below average temperatures push through.
Usually this time of the year, there is about a week or two when it gets really cold. Then we will level back out. There are also times it will warm up unseasonablly. TN weather is hard to predict. I vividly recall a time around '95 when it snowed one day and the next it was in the 70's and people had on shorts. I believe it was Jan. that year.
I think your home should be okay set at 50. We may have some days of below freezing between now and your trip here, but it probably won't stay as low as 13 very long.

[elsie]

It actually got to 24 below zero in Knoxville in the early 80's. It was the coldest spot in the nation.

[Jim280]

We're getting a few snow flurries here in Warren Co. now, with a prediction of low 16 tonight and low 12 for Friday night.

[mbmouse]

OMG!!! I just looked out the window when I read your post....we are getting a few flurries here in Washington County (Tri_cities) too!!! So much for putting up the new shed...gonna go light the fireplace hehehehe

[JMT]

Originally Posted by elsie

It actually got to 24 below zero in Knoxville in the early 80's. It was the coldest spot in the nation.

That's the winter I'm referring to. It was in the early '80s, either '83 or '84. I think it was '84. Anyway, it was 17 below 0 at our house on Christmas day which was on a Sunday. Our cars wouldn't start to get us to church that morning. And no, -17 was not the wind chill, it was the actual temperature.