Snow, freezing rain fall across much of region

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A man celebrates making it up a steep, snow-covered hill north of the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016. Much of downtown was deserted as state and city government offices were closed for the day. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

A winter storm hit parts of Tennessee earlier than expected Friday morning, catching many people off guard and causing gridlock on the interstates.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon in anticipation of the coming storm, but TEMA spokesman Dean Flener said the weather even caught him by surprise. Speaking from his car Friday morning, Flener said he had been stuck on Interstate 40 for two hours on his way into the office.

State offices across Tennessee were closed, warming stations were open, and the Red Cross had shelters on standby.

In Chattanooga, people flocked to emergency shelters in an attempt to get out of the storm's way.

Jessica Hooker, program coach at Room in the Inn, said that when the weather gets bad, more and more people come looking for help.

"On Tuesday and Wednesday, the phones seemed to be ringing off the hook," she said.

Room in the Inn houses women and children and helps them work toward full-time employment and housing, but they've seen an uptick this winter as temperatures got colder and a series of storms rolled in, Hooker said. Nine women are now living there with 13 children, which is a sharp increase from the 15 people they were housing a month before Christmas.

Miserable winter weather also pushes people toward housing who ordinarily try to outlast harsh conditions, but don't want to be stuck out in a blizzard.

Hooker said, "Some of it may be that they finally realized they need to ask someone for help."

Dale Grisso, director of the drug and alcohol rehabilitation program at the Chattanooga Rescue Mission, said he's seen some of the same trends in housing the homeless.

During winter storms, he said, "Some guys come in who would never come in otherwise. You get some of the more hardcore individuals."

In North Georgia, more than a dozen counties were under a state of emergency Friday.

By the evening, National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Sena said, Northeast Georgia had gotten 4 to 6 inches of snow with an additional 3 inches expected by this morning. He says heavy snowfall should turn into flurries around midday today.

Paul Barys, chief meteorologist at WRCB, said snow showers should be expected this morning in Chattanooga, but they will quickly fade into small flurries throughout the day.

"[Saturday] it's all over with," he said.

Residents should expect temperatures to remain between 32-34 degrees all day, but warmer weather comes with its own set of problems. If residual snow and ice melt during the day and then refreeze during the night when temperature drops, road conditions could continue to be hazardous.

But aside from the potential for refreezing, today will just be cold, windy and blustery, Barys said.

The winter weather forced SAT testing across the region to be postponed. The college admission test was scheduled nationwide today, but facilities along the East Coast were forced to delay testing as the storm roared in. In Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and McCallie School postponed the tests until Feb. 20. Tonya Botts, manager of UTC's Testing Center, said nearly 40 students were scheduled to take the test there.

In Nashville, Josh Booker and his fiancee brought their suitcases with them to work Friday morning, according to The Associated Press. They work at a Waffle House, and Booker said the restaurant was putting up employees at a nearby hotel in order to keep the business open 24 hours a day.

He said the restaurant should have put them up Thursday night as well, because he had a tough time getting in to work on Friday morning. His car eventually got stuck at an intersection just outside the restaurant, but about eight people came out and pushed him into the parking lot, he said.

A few miles away, Frances Davidson was walking from her apartment past a line of stopped cars to get to a convenience store at a nearby gas station, the AP reported.

"I only have a little food in the house," she said. "I don't think we'll be able to get out before Monday. We'll be stuck for days."

Davidson said she had planned to go shopping Thursday night but put it off until Friday morning because it was raining. When she tried to drive, the car started sliding, so she revised her plans.

"This is my first time having to walk to the store in the snow," she said.

Across the state, officials were warning residents to avoid all unnecessary travel.

In the city of Nashville, police spokeswoman Kris Mumford said they had reports of 229 non-injury collisions between 5 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. There were also 17 injury collisions but no fatalities reported.

At an apartment complex in downtown Memphis on Friday morning, Danielle Aldridge was using a plastic kitchen cutting board to remove ice from her windshield.

"It worked better than I thought it would, but it's not perfect," she said.

Aldridge said she works as a nurse at a family practice clinic in the Midtown neighborhood. Unlike government offices and many private businesses in the city, the clinic was open Friday, the AP reported.

"Sick people will come in today," she said. "That's part of the deal. Like the post office - rain or shine or sleet or snow, I will take care of my patients."

Staff writer Emmett Gienapp contributed to this story.