Will Hodges, center, walks with his mother Angie, left, a teacher, and fellow teacher Amy Swoope to Battle Academy on Friday during subfreezing morning temperatures in Chattanooga.THE FORECASTToday: Sunny with a high near 48. Calm windsTonight: Mostly cloudy with a low around 32Sunday: Chance of snow showers before 9 a.m., then rain likely. High near 48 and low around 40, with showers overnightMonday: Showers likely with a high near 46, low around 25Tuesday: Mostly sunny, high near 35, low of 20Wednesday: Sunny with a high near 40 and a low near 28Source: National Weather Service
Unusually cold weather set Chattanoogans' teeth to chattering on Friday, and even lower temperatures are yet to come.
Jerry Hevrdeys, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn., said normal temperatures for this time of year show lows in the 40s and highs in the 50s.
On Friday, lows got down into the 20s and highs barely hit 40 degrees. The wind chill made it seem even colder.
Even so, that was nothing like the low in Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains, where it was a bone-chilling 8 degrees.
Temperatures will moderate over the next couple of days, then it's back into the deep freeze Monday as overnight lows drop to the mid-20s. The coldest night is expected to be Tuesday, with a low of 20 in Chattanooga and even colder in mountainous and outlying areas.
The high on Tuesday will reach only into the 30s, Hevrdeys said.
The first real break in the cold won't come until later next week.
"Next Thursday it'll be around 50," Hevrdeys said. "But before that, looks like lower than normal temperatures."
The temperature this week drove many homeless people into shelters around Chattanooga on Thursday night. Kimberly George, director of marketing and development for the Salvation Army of Greater Chattanooga, said they saw 60 people overnight on Thursday.
"It was pretty full," she said. "We're planning on opening again (on Friday)."
Downtown on Friday, fewer people were out and about than usual -- at least early in the day -- and those who did brave the cold dashed from cars into shops, usually bundled in coats, scarves and gloves.
Bart Dennis and Zach Adpaty were out raking leaves in the cold on Friday, and they said they didn't mind the chill. They dressed in thick jeans and pullovers, both with hoods up over their heads.
"It's a nice change from 100-degree summer weather," Adpaty said, with a laugh.
The two work for Outdoor Inc. and said the autumn temperatures are nice for outside work.
"It's manageable with the right gear and the right amount of layers," Dennis said. "It's not that bad ... but this is pretty early cold for the fall."
Contact staff writer Hannah Smith at hsmith@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6731.