Historically speaking, maybe we should consider 7″ of snow in the forecast today?
On January 16, 1948…Nashville receives 7″ of snow.
On January 16, 2003…A major snowstorm strikes the mid state, with Nashville reporting 7″ of snow — much more than was forecast — becoming the city’s biggest snowfall in nearly 7 years. The snow begins falling around 8:00 a.m., and by mid-day the city is paralyzed with blocked interstates, numerous accidents, and large-scale gridlock.
I’ve heard the stories from Davis, Lisa and Jeff…any others about our last big snowstorm?
It was was a real nightmare. I couldn’t make it home in my car and had to call my dad to come get me. There were abandoned cars all along the interstates and roads, and it looked like a war zone. I heard stories from co-workers who couldn’t make it home in their cars either, and one had to walk more than a mile from his car to his home. Next time something like that happens, I’ll spend the night at the office.
Ah yes…I had one child in preschool and one in 1st grade. We still lived in town and I didn’t have very far to drive to pick them up from school (but I didn’t have great tires at the time)..so we slid around …at a snail’s pace.
Then the boys came back home and played in the snow for a little while with the neighbor kids. Their mother and I just sat outside talking, like it was a nice spring day…It was fun.
I DO remember watching WKRN and how Davis and Lisa had such a hard time getting to the station…There was wall-to-wall snow coverage THAT day!!
I was an eigth grader and everyone knew it was coming, but i believe they were calling for only 3-5 inches. People weren’t really too worried because “back then” middle TN often received at least one annual snowfall that dropped 3+ inches. Sumner Co. schools did not cancel and by the time they did it was too late. I remember I left the school when there was a half inch on the ground and got home with about 2-3 inches. it wasn’t a long event but the snow was just extremely heavy. i remember there was 8 inches when all was said and done in our yard in Hendersonville.
I remember it taking over 8 hours to get from Franklin to Nashville on Franklin Rd.
I was in school at Watertown High School when it began to snow. They released us around 11:00 am so we decided to go to the depot and drink coffee. By noon, about 5-6 inches had fallen, so we decided it was best to go home. What was normally a 25 minute drive took 3 hours in my Mustang. Fortunately, My brother decided to go home with me. We were able to bounce the car up hills and push it around curves. It was absolutely horrible. He had the time of his life, I was a neervous wreck. We passed about 30 of our friends in ditches but were unable to stop for fear of becoming stuck. We aventually made it home safe, 3 hours later.
I was working at the then new office spaces for the Nashville Business Journal and I took off work that day just so I could be home and not in Nashville. I was having to drive back and forth between Nashville and Smyrna. I remember laying on my couch and watching the snow fall…and fall….and fall…and fall until it stopped 8 inches later.
ANY major snow/tornado event takes place within 4 or 5 days of the 16th…
I work downtown and I remember how the city emptied once they cancelled school and the roads were just packed. I had to keep showing my staff members the traffic cameras to convince them to stay out of the fray. Some of us Yankee’s were watching the cars slide down the hill during the day. It still amazes me that 7 inches could make reasonable people freak out like that.
We all finally fled the office at about 3pm. It was insane. It took me nearly 2 hours to go to from Commerce St. to LaFayette on 4th Ave. Once I got on I-40, it was smooth sailing since everyone was terrified of the highways. I nearly lost it on a off-ramp that was covered with ice. The next morning I left on a roadtrip and it was bizarre to see the cars all abandoned on the side of the road. It was the weirdest couple of days.
I remember the storm well. Being a Jersey boy I enjoyed the snowfall. We had a good 6 inches or so in Robertson County. I wound up working an extra shift at work due to second shift calling in sick. I did have the next day off as a reward. I remember driving home at 11 at night and seeing all of the abandoned cars along the interstates. My daughter, son and I enjoyed the snow the day after, even though it got quite frigid after the storm. It took my wife over 3 hours to get home from work (a 20 mile drive) Everybody panicked and left work right after the snow started. Many people had to get their children from school or daycares. Everybody leaving at once caused a major gridlock on all main thoroughfares. I believe the original forecast had a 1-3 inch snowfall potential in Nashville. The storm started earlier than expected. I love snow—not ice—but Nashville was definitely not equipped to handle that kind of storm.
oh, the good ol’ days…i love how we have anniversary days for big weather events here…really enhances the past that’s for sure…
anyway, i was a junior in ‘03, and i remember being stranded at Christ Presbyterian Academy with my little sister, who was nine at the time. of course, it was a bizarre day in more ways than one. i remember giving a improv speech about hershey kisses…best speech of the year for me…because I remember seeing the first flakes starting to fall midway through my speech…so obviously i got excited. i was on my way to becoming the school’s local meteorologist…so i knew i didn’t i have to worry about being pelted with eggs!
again, it was the best of times and worst of times for the first six hours…first off, i didn’t bring my car! the only day of the year i didn’t drive to school! instead, a classmate picked me up and drove me, but once school cancelled, she left me and my little sis at school by accident. stranded! but it wasn’t a total loss. we had a solid bonding moment as we waited six hours for a ride home…we went hiking in the hills and had the best of times just doin everything fun in the snow (besides sledding)…but i remember the next few days were so cold! we had the perfect setup of sleet/ice on the bottom of the snowpack where i lived which provided optimum sledding for at least 3 or 4 days. i suppose we were all spoiled by that snow…next time it happens again, i think we will all learn to appreciate it more than we did back in ‘03…
It was a bad day - took me 4 hours to get from Greenhills to Franklin, but one thing I saw that day really made me laugh. Someone had built a snowman against the ineterior barrier on 65. It was very welcome comic relief.