Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 3 to 4, 1998

Name: Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 3 to 4, 1998
Start: 1998-02-03T17:00
End: 1998-02-04T06:00
Location: Tennessee

February 3 to 4, 1998 · NWS OHX · 19 events in 19 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 19 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 19

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OHX wrote it up.

The heavy snow brought treacherous driving conditions, school closures, and widespread power outages across the eastern part of Middle Tennessee. Interstate 40 was closed at Monterey due to the heavy snow. Winds gusted to 50 mph at times during the snowstorm. The weight of the heavy wet snow, along with the strong winds, downed many trees and power lines causing numerous power outages. TEMA reported damages from the snow storm at about 5 million dollars. The report will be broken down into county/snow depth/ and related problems.Bedford / 2-4" / Widespread power outages. Bledsoe / 4-18" / Snow on ridges, widespread power outages. As much as 10-18 inches fell at Fall Creek Falls State Park. Guests at the inn were moved to cabins with fireplaces so they could have heat and keep warm.Cannon / 7-8" / Widespread power outages. Clay / 2-6" / Widespread power outages; higher amounts in the higher elevations. Coffee / 3-6" / Widespread power outages; higher amounts in the higher elevations. Dekalb / 5-6" / Almost 100% of the county was without power. Shelters were being opened. Franklin / 3-10" / Widespread power outages; higher amounts across the higher elevations, for example Sewanee Mountain received 10 inches of snow. Grundy / 6-14" / Widespread power outages.Jackson / 2-8" / Widespread trees and power lines down. Higher amounts in the eastern part of the county.Macon / 4"-6" / Widespread power outages.Marion / 6-8" / Heavy snow occurred mainly on ridges.Overton / 8-12" / Widespread power outages. The National Guard was called out to clear the road of debris.Pickett / 6" / Almost the entire county was without power. 70,000 or 80% of Volunteer Electric Cooperative customers had no power. The Blizzard of "93 only affected 30,000 VEC customers or about 35%. It was the worst snowstorm to hit the area in 20 years.Putnam / 8-12" / Interstate 40 was closed between Monterey and Cookeville for 18 hours. Traffic was backed up for 13 miles and did not start to move until Wednesday afternoon. There were widespread power outages due to downed trees. 100,000 electric customers were without power.Sequatchie / 2-4" / Snow was on the higher elevations.Smith / 4-6" / The heaviest snow was in the eastern part of the county, near Chestnut Mound. Van Buren / 4" / Widespread power outages.Warren / 4-8" / Widespread power outages.White / 5-7" / Widespread power outages.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

19 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Bedford

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Bedford forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.514, -86.459 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cannon

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Cannon forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.809, -86.062 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Clay

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.551, -85.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coffee

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Coffee forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.491, -86.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Dekalb

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Dekalb forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.980, -85.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Franklin

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.155, -86.092 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Grundy

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Grundy forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.388, -85.723 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jackson

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.359, -85.673 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Macon

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Macon forecast zone
Property damage: $5.0 million
Coordinates: 36.532, -86.007 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Marion

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Marion forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.129, -85.622 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bledsoe

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Bledsoe forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.596, -85.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Overton

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Overton forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.345, -85.288 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pickett

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Pickett forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.558, -85.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Putnam

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.141, -85.495 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sequatchie

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Sequatchie forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.371, -85.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Smith

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Smith forecast zone
Coordinates: 36.251, -85.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Van Buren

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.696, -85.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Warren

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.679, -85.778 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, White

When: February 3, 5:00 PM CST to February 4, 6:00 AM CST
Where: White forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.926, -85.455 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, February 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5634308, 5634309, 5634310, 5634311, 5634312, 5634313, 5634314, 5634315, 5634316, 5634317, 5634318, 5634319, 5634320, 5634321, 5634322, 5634323, 5634324, 5634325, 5634326.