Level 3 is an official State of Emergency. At this level, a serious emergency or minor disaster has occurred or a situation is deteriorating rapidly and public warnings are being issued. The Tennessee Emergency Management Plan (TEMP) is activated and a state of emergency is automatically declared per TCA 58-2-107.

The state remains at a Level 3, State of Emergency, to be able to respond to the impending winter weather and to continue to respond to Tropical Storm Helene recovery.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered the state’s emergency management agency to issue a State of Emergency, initiating regulatory relief as a winter storm approaches Tennessee.

TEMA recommends staying prepared ahead of the winter storm, which is expected to last from the evening of Thursday, Jan. 9, until the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 11.

If the precipitation is just rain or just snow, the atmosphere is either greater than or less than 32°. When you add in a wintry mix — freezing rain or sleet — then one must evaluate the temperature at different levels of the atmosphere.

The storm will bring "widespread snow accumulations" with a mixture of sleet and freezing rain possible south of Interstate 40 with "light ice accumulation possible."

The Winter Storm Warning is in effect now across Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. It started at midnight Friday and will last until 6 a.m. Saturday for Lincoln, Moore and Franklin Counties. The rest of Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky are under the warning that started at 3 a.