Icy roads main concern around Kingsport Thursday morning

KINGSPORT — After light snow and ice overnight and into Thursday morning, road around Kingsport are slick. The Kingsport Police Department shared a social media post stating the agency has seen an increase in vehicle collisions, specifically in 3400 block of East Stone Drive and along Shipley Ferry Road Thursday. "Patches of ice have created hazardous driving conditions on several roadways in Kingsport, the KPD post states. "Kingsport Public works is working on treating the ice patches, and the Kingsport Police Department urges drivers to use extreme caution if they must drive this morning." The Kingsport Alerts page also noted: Kingsport garbage routes for Thursday will be delayed and started later this morning The Convenience Center (on Industry Drive) is closed Thursday KATS will start service at 9:30 a.m.; once service begins, vehicles will only travel on roads that are clear. Hawkins County Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency said in post Thursday morning there is a "large amount of black ice" in Hawkins County and around the region, urging drivers to use extreme caution. The Mooresburg Utility District is currently out of water, according to the Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency. In a separate social media post shared around 8:32 a.m. Thursday morning, Hawkins County EMA said the timeline for repairs is unknown. "Disaster relief agencies are actively donating bottled water, and additional community support would be appreciated," the post states. For residents impacted by the outage who need shower facilities, the EMA post states the East Rogersville Baptist Church Community Center will be open Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (1100 East McKinney Avenue, Rogersville, Tennessee, 37857) Water donations to the Mooresburg Utility District customers can be dropped off at 810 Old Hwy 11W, Mooresburg, TN 37811. Any other facilities, organizations or businesses willing to help should contact 423-923-1910 — per the post. Other updates Kingsport City Schools and Johnson City Schools are closed Thursday, both systems have announced, as snow again hits the Tri-Cities, Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The Tennessee Highway Patrol early Thursday morning reported that northbound lanes of Interstate 81 near Exit 63, the Tri-Cities Airport/Cracker Barrel exit, were closed because of a multi-vehicle pileup. At one time, mapping information indicated traffic going from Kingsport toward Bristol was backed up from Exit 63 to the Colonial Heights Exit 59 and further at the interchange of Interstate 26 and 81 near Tri-Cities Crossing. Secondary roads and side streets were covered with ice and snow as folks headed into work, but the interstates and U.S. Highway 11W were clear or mostly clear. The Gray area got an inch or two of snow, with Kingsport getting slightly less. For a look at Interstate 26 shortly before 8 a.m., go to the Kingsport Times News Instagram or Facebook pages to view two vertical video reels, as well as two more reels of the same section going from Kingsport toward Gray Wednesday night about 10 p.m. As for Friday, as previously announced by the respective school systems Wednesday, Hawkins County Schools, Rogersville City School and Scott County (Virignia) Schools were closed Thursday and will remain closed Friday. Also, Kingsport City Schools will be closed for students Friday because of previously schedule parent/teacher conferences. Other are systems had not yet made announcements about Friday as of noon Thursday. Return to this article, which will be updated throughout the day, or look in Friday's print edition of the Kingsport Times News for more information about weather-related closures.