NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) said the number of people who died around the Volunteer State as a result of last week’s winter storm has increased to 27.

Based on the update from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) on Sunday, Jan. 21, seven of the state’s 27 deaths were confirmed in Middle Tennessee, including one in Coffee County, one in Hickman County, one in Van Buren County, one in Henry County, one in Carroll County, and two in Marshall County.

Outside of Middle Tennessee, officials said eight deaths were reported in Shelby County, four in Knox County, two in Washington County, two in Roane County, one in Madison County, one in Lauderdale County, one in Marion County, and one in Anderson County.

Ice dams plaguing Middle Tennessee homeowners

On Wednesday, Jan. 17, TEMA Director Patrick C. Sheehan, on behalf of Gov. Bill Lee, declared a State of Emergency to provide commercial vehicles transporting livestock, poultry, and feed for the livestock and poultry relief from hours of service until 3:59 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27.

With regard to travel conditions, officials warned that many roads — especially secondary routes — are still impacted by the winter weather, so drive cautiously.

Meanwhile, the State Emergency Operations Center in Nashville reportedly remains activated at a Level 4-Elevated to support local requests.

TVA reaches highest weekend power demand on Sunday

As for utilities, the region’s extremely cold temperatures created record demand for electricity. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said its electric and generating facilities remained stable and performed well.

However, the peak power demand — which was 34,284 megawatts at 9 a.m. Sunday at a system average of 12 degrees — was the highest weekend peak and the second highest all-time peak in TVA history, officials reported.

In addition, TEMA said 17 counties have reported water utilities with operational issues and 28 water systems have issued boil water advisories as of Sunday evening. Some of the localities reporting water issues are located in Bedford County, Giles County, Hickman County, Houston County, Lawrence County, Lincoln County, and Maury County.

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According to TEMA, last week’s arctic cold is coming to an end with this week’s forecast, which includes warmer temperatures and rain all over the Volunteer State from Monday, Jan. 22 through Friday, Jan. 26.

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