TRAFFIC ALERT: LIVE TRAFFIC MAP
ROAD CONDITIONS
I-24- Crews are salting roadwaysI-75- Crews are salting roadwaysBradley Co. - Crews are salting county wideHamilton Co. - Crews are salting county wideMcMinn Co. - Crews are salting county wideMeigs Co. - Crews are monitoring roadwaysPolk Co. - Crews are salting county wideRhea Co. - Crews are monitoring roadways
Traffic continues to snarl Chattanooga-area roads, which were rapidly coated with a powdery snow that compacted and stuck to streets and highways this morning.
Many parents and schools across the region are also struggling with how to transport children home safely, after schools made the call mid-morning to send students home early.
Chattanooga Public Works Director Lee Norris said today that while the department brined some area bridges last night, this morning's snowfall was unexpected.
"The last thing we heard last night was that there may be a few snow flurries. We got our first inclement weather briefing from the National Weather Service this morning. That's the first time we've gotten a briefing after an event has already started."
The city began sending 20 trucks out around 7:30 a.m., and started with brining, salting and sanding high ground and bridges before reaching more urban roads.
Norris said the combination of dry, frozen ground and the dry nature of the snow means it is compacting to the roads - making it tough for tires to navigate.
The fact that the school systems cancelled school in the middle of the morning has made efforts to clear the roads even tougher, as parents and buses flood the already-gridlocked streets.
"It's making it harder to get out there and get this finished," Norris said. "But we will do what we need to do."
Early dismissals tileSCHOOL CLOSINGS AND DELAYS FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29:
All campuses of Georgia Northwestern Technical College are closed.
Athens City Schools are canceled.
Bradley County Schools are canceled.
Calhoun, Ga. Schools are canceled.
Catoosa County Schools are canceled.
Cleveland City Schools are canceled.
Chattanooga State Technical Community College will be closed.
Dade County Schools are canceled.
Dalton Schools are canceled.
Gordon County Schools are canceled.
Hamilton County Schools are canceled.
Marion County Schools are canceled.
McMinn County Schools are canceled.
Meigs County Schools are canceled.
Murray County Schools are canceled.
Polk County Schools are canceled.
Rhea County Schools are canceled.
Southern Adventist University will be closed.
UTC will be closed.
Walker County Schools are canceled.
Whitfield County Schools are canceled.
Other closings and delays:
• All Chattanooga City Council meetings are cancelled because of the weather.
• All Walker County government offices, except for essential services, are closing tomorrow due to inclement weather. Transit offices will be closed as well.
• Chattanooga City Court and the City Court Clerk's Office will be closed tomorrow.
• Hamilton County General Sessions Court, both criminal and civil, are closed tomorrow. All cases scheduled for the afternoon will need to be rescheduled.
• Hamilton County Juvenile Court will be closed tomorrow.
• Memorial Hospital closings and delays tomorrow:
- Endoscopy and surgery at Memorial Hospital and Memorial Hospital Hixson will be open as scheduled.
- The Chattanooga Heart Institute will close at all locations.
- Cardiac rehabilitation will close at all locations.
- All outpatient services will open at noon: wound, imaging, physical therapy.
- The Buz Standefer Lung Center will open at noon.
- Sleep services will operate on a normal schedule.
• The Ooltewah Publix will open at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
• Dale Buchanan and Associates will open at 10 a.m.
• All four Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority sites will be closed.
• Hamilton Place mall and Northgate Mall will open at noon.
SCHOOL AND OTHER CLOSINGS AND DELAYS FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 28:
- Catoosa County Public Schools are dismissing early. Elementary school buses and student drivers will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. Middle and high school buses will dismiss at 12:30 p.m.
- Chattanooga State has closed.
- East Ridge City Court for today is cancelled.
- Hamilton County Schools are dismissing at 11 a.m.
- Due to inclement weather the Tennessee Aquarium and IMAX 3D Theater will be closing at 3 p.m. today.
- UTC is closing at noon, no evening classes.
- Whitfield County elementary schools will dismiss students at 11:15 a.m. Whitfield County middle and high schools will dismiss students at 12:15 p.m.
- All campuses of Georgia Northwestern Technical College will close today at 11:30 a.m. All day and evening classes are canceled.
- Chickamauga City Schools will dismiss at 11:30 a.m.
- Cleveland City Schools middle and high students are releasing at 11:30 a.m. while elementary students are releasing at 12:30 p.m.
- Richard Hardy Memorial School is dismissing at 11 a.m.
- McMinn County Schools will close at 11 a.m.
- McCallie School will end today at 10:30 a.m. and be closed tomorrow. All afternoon & evening activities are cancelled.
- Polk County TN Schools will dismiss at 11 a.m.
- Meigs County Schools will dismiss early at 11:30 a.m.
- Baylor School closing at 10:30 a.m.
Check back on this page for more closings as they happen.