An ice storm warning has been issued for the western Tennessee Valley and the Chattanooga region from 1 p.m. Saturday through 7 p.m. Sunday as forecasters call for potentially crippling icing problems until heavy rains and higher temperatures bring brief relief Sunday and temperatures take a bone-chilling plunge into the teens by Monday morning.
Uncertainty remains, but forecasters believe ice accumulation combined with high winds coming in from the east could add to problems with travel, downed trees and power outages across the region.
In the Chattanooga region, Lookout, Signal and Monteagle mountains could see some of the worst impacts, National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Roberts said Friday.
“I would expect those higher elevations to be in worse shape, and it extends all the way down to the city itself in Chattanooga,” Roberts said. “If you do see the freezing rain, you’re still talking about amounts from a quarter of an inch up to half of an inch of ice possible, and if that occurs, it’s going to cause some major problems.”
In a Friday afternoon briefing, weather service meteorologist Charles Dalton said people should be prepared for the worst because it could happen. It’s even likely.
“Chattanooga proper is probably somewhere close to a quarter of an inch,” Dalton told reporters Friday. “Signal Mountain, if you go up a little bit in elevation just outside of the city, those places could get half an inch or more.”
The most ice accumulation is expected on the southern Cumberland Plateau, and the impact on trees and power lines could be widespread, Dalton said. The higher the elevation, the worse the potential for problems, especially west of Interstate 75.
“For those elevated areas on the southern plateau, west of I-75 in the southern valley, a pretty significant ice storm looks to be in the offing,” Dalton said. “When you get up into that half-inch ice accrual range, you’re talking about widespread trees down, power outages. While it’s going to warm up on Sunday and melt some of that, it’s going to turn quickly back to the cold side Sunday evening.”
High winds from the east pouring over the Appalachians on Saturday night could bring ice damage and power outages, he said. Most high winds are forecast for Monroe County and northward, but forecast maps show some potential wind problems near Etowah in McMinn County, too. Chattanooga and the surrounding areas will be “pretty breezy.”
Power outages in some areas could last for days if road conditions are also dangerous, he said. The bitter cold coming in Sunday night will freeze any water left behind by an expected deluge on Sunday.
Anyone attempting to travel Monday can expect black ice, he said.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga forecast trends from snow toward ice as winter storm nears)
Lingering water from Sunday’s downpour could create some spotty problems with refreezing Sunday night into Monday, with temperatures not expected to rise above 32 degrees until Tuesday afternoon, according to the weather service. The temperature in Chattanooga is forecast to fall to 7 degrees by Tuesday morning.
There’s a worrying future looming as cold temperatures continue next week, Dalton said.
“We know it’s going to be cold,” Dalton said of the forecast for the coming days. “But we know there’s a potential for another winter weather event sometime in the mid-week.”
After the system moves through the South, it is expected to depart through the Northeast, leaving a foot or more of snow behind from Washington D.C. to New York and Boston.
Forecasters warned that the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. Airlines canceled thousands of flights, churches moved Sunday services online and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Carnival parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.
(READ MORE: Millions of Americans brace for potentially catastrophic ice storm. What to know, by the numbers)
Local and state crews have been prepping roads for the past couple of days as the wintry system approaches.
“The brining started mid-morning yesterday and will be brined again today,” city spokesperson Errol Williams said in an email. “The current forecast is not calling for rain today. Primary roads will be serviced first, followed by secondary roads that feed primary routes.”
POWER LINES
Crews are mobilizing at local utilities, from EPB to the Chickamauga Electric System and the Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative. Almost all Chattanooga-area utilities buy wholesale power from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which has made its own preparations. One exception is Dade County, which gets most of its electricity from Georgia Power.
Transportation departments in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina are asking people not to travel over the weekend unless absolutely necessary. State crews in the four states have spent the past couple of days pretreating main arteries with brine, a solution of water and salt that lowers the freezing point of falling precipitation.
Tennessee crews have been pretreating interstates and main state highways since rains moved out earlier this week. Alabama and Georgia crews are focusing on the mountains along the state line and west toward Huntsville. North Carolina crews have pretreated roads on the east side of the Appalachians.
Governors in those four states, according to press releases, have also declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm.
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The Tennessee Highway Patrol — as well as state police in neighboring states — are urging people to stay off the roads and to be prepared if they must travel.
Salt supplies have been replenished in all 95 counties in preparation for the winter season, according to the state Department of Transportation. Snowplows and brine trucks are ready for the incoming winter storm and will pretreat heavily traveled roads in advance.
The city of Chattanooga’s brine trucks were prepping city streets and bridges Thursday in advance of the storm. City brine trucks are loaded with about 1,000 gallons of brine to begin treating primary and secondary roads first, Williams said in a video posted on social media.
The incoming storm and bitter cold has triggered scores of delays, closures and cancellations, as uncertainty continued among forecasters.
Hamilton County closed restrooms and turned off water supplies until further notice at Meadowview Park, Middle Valley Park, Redoubt Soccer Complex, East Hamilton County Park and Standifer Gap Park, according to the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation.
Contact Southeast Tennessee reporter Ben Benton at [email protected] or 423-757-6569.
National Weather Service / This impact map shows the ice accumulation forecast from the National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tenn., for parts of East Tennessee, West North Carolina, North Georgia and Southwest Virginia, as of Jan. 23, 2026. The forecast shows accumulations ranging from 0.1-0.25 of an inch in Chattanooga, up to a half inch in Monteagle, Tenn,, on the Southern Cumberland Plateau.
Natinoal Weather Service / This graphic shows the kinds of impacts caused by freezing rain as buildup continues from 0.01 to 0.5 inches or more. Forecasters are calling for up to a half-inch of ice on Chattanooga area mountains overnight Saturday into Sunday. Temperatures will warm with heavy rains on Sunday but then will plummet into the teens by Monday morning.
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