UTC exercise science major Byron McGregor tries to stay active through unpredictable Chattanooga winters, but warmer temperatures finally promise some time for an outdoor run this week.
“I’m from up north so it’s nothing that different for me,” Mr. McGregor said. “But I like running better when it’s warmer because it’s never fun breathing in the cold air.”
Meteorologists are predicting cold temperatures today before balmy weather finally surfaces for a time in the Tennessee Valley. By Thursday or Friday, the warming pattern will peak as partly cloudy skies will yield highs in the mid-50s in Chattanooga.
“The polar jet (stream), which has been traveling so far South for the last couple weeks, will be retreating a bit,” said WTVC NewsChannel 9 chief meteorologist David Glenn. “We’re going to see temperatures going a little above normal for daily highs at the end of the week. As far as this drastic cold, we’re going to get at least a sizable break from this.”
The Arctic blast that lowered overnight temperatures into the teens for most of the past week heated up demand for electricity in the Tennessee Valley over the past week to a record high, according to TVA officials.
Weekly demand reached new highs for the seven-day period that ended Sunday. Total weekly energy use across the TVA region was recorded at 4,633 gigawatt-hours. That’s more than 200 gigawatt-hours higher than the previous record, set Aug. 12, 2007.
A TVA record was set for total energy use in 24 hours on Friday, at 701 gigawatt-hours.
The highest weekend daily record was set Saturday, at 673 gigawatt-hours. That was also the third-highest daily usage on record. A record for Sunday usage was set Sunday, at 644 gigawatt-hours.
Mr. Glenn said Chattanooga will see plenty of weather changes in the coming weeks.
“I’d love to say it’s going to stay constant, but based on some of the long-range patterns we look at, I still see a lot of fluctuation going on,” said Mr. Glenn. “We could still see temperatures getting back to colder than normal by the late stage of the month, hopefully not as bad as what we’ve seen lately.”
Decatur, Ala., resident Morris Grammer counted himself as someone who does not wish to see the current conditions evaporate just yet as he experienced downtown Chattanooga for a one-day visit.
“It was cold, it’s wintertime, and it’s the way I expected it,” Mr. Grammer said. “I love cold weather.”