Wintry weather to continue into weekend with icy roads, school closures

The region continues to see icy roads and school closures as back-to-back weather systems move through Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Wednesday night, a light rain eventually turned to light snow with around an inch of snowfall. Temperatures fell back below freezing overnight, causing problems Thursday. Another "brief shot of winter" will come through the Tri-Cities region to start the weekend, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service Morristown field office. Forecasts, as of Thursday, show a winter system coming into the region Friday afternoon, bringing about a half-inch of snow to the Tri-Cities valley. People living at higher elevations could see an additional inch of snow. Precipitation will continue into Friday night with potential for some flurries Saturday morning. "It's just been sort of the tale of winter the last few weeks, where we've had system after system," said Nathan Wellington, NWS Morristown meteorologist. Forecasts indicate the area may get a reprieve from those freezing temperatures next week. "We should start seeing some much more mild temperatures and above normal temperatures next week," Wellington said, "and that is very welcome." Sullivan County The Kingsport Police Department urged drivers to use caution Thursday morning due to icy road conditions across the city. In a release, police said officers responded to an increase in crashes, particularly in the 3400 block of East Stone Drive and along Shipley Ferry Road. "Patches of ice have created hazardous driving conditions on several roadways in Kingsport," the release stated. "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 Sullivan County Sheriff's Office also reported multiple vehicle crashes on Interstate 81 early Thursday, which led to traffic backups. Andy Seabolt, public information officer with the SCSO, said the officers responded to nine car crashes and two motorist assist calls as of noon Thursday. Sullivan County Highway Department Commissioner Scott Murray said main roads throughout the county are in good condition, though some secondary roads remain slick. "The secondary roads are a little slushy, but for the most part, if people take their time, they shouldn't have any issue," Murray said. The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed weather-related fatalities connected to winter weather that began Jan. 30. The deaths include one in Sullivan County. Hawkins County Primary roads in Hawkins County are mostly clear, Road Superintendent Danny Jones said Thursday afternoon, with black ice in cold spots. "We've had a lot of accidents today," Jones said. "We were concentrating on [back roads] and had to pull off to start treating the primary roads again, to combat the black ice. It's a slow process." He said the county has seen car wrecks from Goshen Valley to Rogersville to Mooresburg. Emergency dispatch alerts the highway department of multiple-car pile-ups so they can retreat the road. Jones said the highway department mostly put out chat, which is crushed rock, on Thursday to increase traction. Jones said he appreciates his employees' work over the continuing winter weather. "They've been through a lot these last two weekends," he said. "We've battled — and are still battling." Scott County Black ice glazed many stretches of secondary roads in Scott County Thursday. County Emergency Coordinator Jeff Brickey said crews pulled one vehicle out of a ditch along Reed Hollow Road at the Route 72 intersection, with the driver uninjured. County emergency workers received reports of other ice-related vehicle slides, Brickey said, mostly along areas not yet retreated by VDOT crews since Wednesday night's snow and freezing temperatures. Brickey cautioned drivers to watch for ice patches on bridges and in road sections in shaded areas. "We've had very minor conditions across the area," said VDOT Bristol District spokesperson Michele Earl. "Crews have been out checking bridges, overpasses and areas where we've gotten reports." VDOT Wise and Scott Residency Administrator Allen Sumpter told the Scott County Board of Supervisors Wednesday that VDOT sites in Scott County had approximately 4,400 tons of salt and chemicals on hand. VDOT's 511 Virginia website showed all primary roads and highways clear in far Southwest Virginia Thursday morning. Appalachian Power's online outage map showed no outages in Scott County by noon Thursday. The National Weather Service forecast for Scott County includes a chance of snow Friday with clearing Saturday, cloudy conditions Sunday and partly sunny skies Monday. Nighttime temperatures will be in the 20s to the teens through Sunday. Schools Hawkins County and Rogersville City Schools in Tennessee and Scott County (Virginia) Schools announced Wednesday they would be closed Thursday and Friday because of the weather. Scott County Schools Superintendent John Ferguson said a decision will be made later on whether schools will be open Monday on regular or delayed schedule depending on road conditions. Kingsport City Schools and Johnson City Schools were closed Thursday after Kingsport initially planned a delay and Johnson City planned to open on a regular schedule. Kingsport schools are to be closed for students Friday because of previously scheduled parent/teacher conferences. The Sullivan County Board of Education work session and meeting originally set for Thursday evening was cancelled, and Sullivan Director of Schools Chuck Carter said those would be rescheduled later. The Washington County school board started its Thursday night meeting an hour early. As of 6 p.m. Thursday, Johnson City Schools hadn't announced any schedule changes for Friday, nor had Bristol Tennessee Schools, while Bristol, Virginia Schools will start at the regular time but dismiss two hours early. Elsewhere in the commonwealth, Norton and Wise County schools and Lee County schools announced Friday closures, as did the school systems of Johnson, Carter, Greene, Unicoi and Hancock counties. Tri-Cities Christian Academy listed a two-hour delay, as did the Washington County, Tennessee, school system. Bus incidents When KCS had students in session on Wednesday, Superintendent of Administration Andy True said that two KCS buses hit icy patches. One patch was near Adams Elementary School in the Rock Springs area of southwestern Kingsport, the other on Abilene Drive between Skyland Drive and Cooks Valley Road in far eastern Kingsport. However, he said the bus drivers properly stopped and waited for help after losing traction; no students or adults were injured and the buses got back on their ways. True said no wreckers or tow trucks were involved in the incidents, contrary to some initial reports on social media. Staff writers Jorgelina Manna-Rea, Rebekah McNerney, Allison Winters, Sarah Monoson, Mike Still and Rick Wagner contributed to this report.