February 2026

[Carvers Gap]

Here are the winter monthly averages for TRI(so far):

January -1.6F...snow 8.6 which is +5.6 AN

December +0.7F...snow 0.9 which was -0.7 BN

February (which will certainly modify some with WELCOMED warmed temps!  bring it on) as of 2/4:  -17.4F...snow is +0.4 so far

February had the coldest day(regardless of month) since 2015 according to David Boyd of WCYB along w/ two record lows on Feb 1st and 2nd.  February 1st was -27.8 BN and Feb 2nd was -28.4 BN.  There are portions of lakes frozen solid right now which rarely freeze over in NE TN.  There have been three record lows set in the 2000s at TRI....February 2026 now holds two of those three record lows. 

We have had back-to-back winter storms during the past two weekends...an ice storm and snow storm.  It snowed again last night.  I would guess MBY probably has had about 12" of snow so far this winter.  Lots of nickel and dime stuff in addition to the big storm.  

And yes, temps after Christmas were warm, but oddly TRI didn't set a single record high here, but again....the temps for both December and January will average out BN for both months combined at TRI.  With the exception of just a few days, TRI has been BN since Jan 11. This has been an impressive cold spell.  

[Mr Bob]

1 hour ago, TheClimateChanger said:

Agreed. Even expanding that out a bit, the period from December 20th to January 10th was the 2nd warmest on record at Tri-Cities Airport and 3rd warmest at Knoxville (exceeded only by a couple of questionable recordings from the 19th century - it was more than 3F warmer than any year since 1890). Yes, it's been very cold since mid-January, but I don't know why some feel the need to carry on with this myth that there was no torch around the Holidays / New Year. The 3-week period centered around New Year's was about as warm as it gets in the Tennessee Valley.

Tri-Cities

Knoxville

 

Thanks for the in depth stats. I think everyone agrees there was a warm period over the holidays, but this is a forward looking thread so let’s take it easy on the past details.  

[Carvers Gap]

Portions of E TN mountain counties, some areas of SW VA, and mountain counties of SE KY are under a winter weather advisory for tomorrow as we are set to see what is hopefully the last cold shot for a bit.  I need a break from the cold, and you won't hear that very often from me.  We have just recently been BN(sometimes severely so) during our coldest climo of the year.  TRI is at roughly 10" of snow so far since Jan 11th.  Places around Nashville are still without power from the ice storm almost two weeks ago.  Road crews and schools need a break.  I know some places in NE TN have run out of salt.  

I would guess Feb will end up possibly AN due to the thaw next week, and the month being a short month.  I had a warmer Feb as part of my winter forecast back in June - so part of me hopes it is slightly AN.  However, the last ten days of the month could return to colder temperatures which might last into the well into March...However, as Jeff notes in the banter(?) thread, I don't think severe is out of the question.  Often in our forum, severe weather and winter weather can coexist in the month of March.  

[Carvers Gap]

MRX graphics for the weekend....

 

[Carvers Gap]

Here is the photo of S Holston Lake.  A picture is worth a thousand words.... It not uncommon for high elevation lakes to freeze during cold winters in NE TN.  It is quite uncommon for TVA lakes in NE TN to have that much ice in my experience.

 

 

[Carvers Gap]

And to reference my earlier post about this being the coldest day at TRI since 2015...

 

 

[John1122]

Freezing fog after the snow last night produced some scenic views this afternoon as I headed off the mountain and back to the basketball tournament. High today was only 31. School has been out two weeks here and the lake is frozen.