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Snow beautiful but troublesome
Snow plow
Snow plows were a common sight Monday as crews worked diligently to keep roads passable as snow continued to fall.
snow main street
Main Street was a beautiful place to view but a treacherous place to travel Monday afternoon as motorists carefully made their way through town.

The first snowfall of the year came on Monday covering Warren County with multiple inches of snow.

Schools were already closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but Director of Schools Dr. Grant Swallows went ahead and called off school for the next two days as well. Swallows said after Wednesday, there will be six snow days left for the school year. With the cold weather looking to stick around, it is unclear if schools will be open on Thursday. Swallows plans to make the call on Wednesday.

“As I watch it continue to snow, there is no real way of knowing what will happen by Wednesday. With below-freezing temperatures, I don’t expect there will be much change in the next 48 hours but we will evaluate on Wednesday afternoon,” said Swallows on Monday.

The roads were hazardous most of the day on Monday with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department issuing a statement asking anyone who did  not have to be out to stay home. Sheriff Jackie Matheny Jr. urged those who had to travel to use extreme caution. Tennessee Highway Patrol Sergeant Rodney Whiles said the roads were extremely hazardous on Monday.

“Tennessee Depart-ment of Transportation (TDOT) is working around the clock and doing a wonderful job, but with the continued snow fall and extreme cold conditions it is all they can do to keep up. I would advise everyone to only get out if you have to and be sure to carry emergency supplies with you if you do,” said Whiles.

The Warren County Highway Department worked late Sunday night attempting to get the roads passable. Snow plows were going through the county most of the day on Monday.

County  Executive Terry Bell praised the work of the Highway Department. “I would just encourage everybody to stay at home and off the roads. The Highway Department is working on the roads but with these extreme cold temperatures it makes it very dangerous to be out,” said Bell.

Emergency lines were busy during the snowy weather. Dispatchers do not give out road conditions. During inclement weather, emergency calls increase and people are encouraged not to tie up the phone lines asking for road conditions. Those wondering about the roads can call 511 to get the road conditions in Tennessee.

The winter weather did not put a strain on powerlines. Danny Sutton, operations director of Caney Fork did not report any outages on Monday.

“We have had no outages so far. Stay home if possible. The roads are pretty bad," said Sutton on Monday.

Temperatures are not predicted to be above freezing again before Thursday.