Approximately 200,000 Tennessee residents remain without power after a winter ice storm wreaked havoc on parts of the United States.

“Tennessee is facing a winter disaster unfolding in real time. Residents describe the scene as a ‘warzone’, with loud explosions echoing through neighborhoods as ice-laden trees and power lines continue to snap and fall,” meteorologist Max Velocity said.

“More than 200,000 people across Tennessee remain without power, many of them stuck in dangerously cold homes with no heat as temperatures drop. Emergency crews are overwhelmed, travel is nearly impossible in some areas, and restoration efforts could take days,” he added.

The Tennessean listed the following power outages:

  • Nashville Electric Service – 157,656
  • Middle Tennessee Electric – 6.805
  • Cumberland Electric Membership Corp. – 16,310
  • Dickson Electric System – 10,829
  • Duck River Electric Membership – 2,283

“It’s imperative to ensure your home is ready to receive power. If weatherheads, power masts, or meter bases are damaged, our crews cannot safely reconnect power. NES maintains and repairs the lines leading to a customer’s home, but homeowners are responsible for the equipment on the house. If home equipment repairs need to be made, we strongly suggest contacting a licensed electrician for those repairs,” Nashville Electric Service stated.

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Footage from the Volunteer State circulated on social media:

More from The Tennessean:

Crews have continued to work around the clock to make repairs and restore outages after freezing rain and ice impacted Middle Tennessee Jan. 24-25.

NES reported at least 76 broken power poles and more than 70 distribution circuits out on Jan. 25.

The National Weather Service called what happened overnight in and around Nashville a flash freeze.

When you have snow, rain and sleet hanging around, and the temperature drops into the single digits, that is the recipe for a flash freeze. Any partial melting from Jan. 25 will become solid ice today.

That leaves the roads and highways even more dangerous than before. The NWS says pets need to come inside. Pipes need to be dripped.

NES has warned it may be several days before power can be restored.

The winter storm also created brutal conditions in Mississippi, leaving approximately 150,000 residents without power.

Mississippi County Devastated By Ice Storm, Thousands Without Power

WZTV noted:

More households are slowly getting their electricity back on, with the Nashville Electric Service outage map showing 157.000 customers without power as of 4:20 p.m.

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This number decreased from Sunday night, when 230,000 customers were impacted by the storm and 170,000 from earlier this morning.

According to NES, teams worked throughout the night to repair damage and restore power after freezing rain and ice severely impacted the service territory. As of early Wednesday morning, power has been restored to approximately 60,000 customers.

Restoration efforts remain ongoing, with crews working extended 14–16-hour shifts in rotating teams to address remaining outages as quickly and safely as possible.

 

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