Flight crew members trudge across the snow early Monday morning at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport to board a plane early Monday as a severe winter storm pounded the eastern United States.Business across the Chattanooga area ground to a halt Monday as most major companies advised employees to stay home, though a few with round-the-clock operations took extraordinary steps to maintain staffing levels.
More businesses were shut down because of snow than at any time since the snowstorm of 1993, when the entire city ground to a halt under a load of ice and 18.5 inches of snow, officials said.
Chattanooga-based Unum, along with BlueCross BlueShield and Cigna, told employees not to come in, keeping thousands of cars off the snow-covered interstates and secondary streets.
“We’re closed down statewide,” said BlueCross spokeswoman Mary Thompson-Danielson, noting that customers still could visit doctors or go to the emergency room without an interruption in service.
Thompson-Danielson said late Monday afternoon that the company will open offices today at 10 a.m., later than normal.