It appears that Knoxville has dodged its first potential snow of the season, with a threatening weather system moving further south.

Nevertheless, frosty temperatures have arrived, and City crews stand ready with the official Snow and Ice Removal Plan.

“Our weather in East Tennessee can be especially unpredictable, so we work diligently year-round to ensure that we’re at our best possible capacity and prepared for whatever comes our way,” said Chad Weth, Director of Public Service.

The Snow and Ice Removal Plan, viewable at www.knoxvilletn.gov/snowplan, objectively prioritizes treatment.


Streets are placed in three categories, with the Level 1 streets getting top priority:

• Level 1 – Main streets carrying the highest volume of traffic, hospital routes, and Knoxville Area Transit emergency routes;

• Level 2 – Streets connecting the main streets, feeder streets to connector streets, trouble spots, and hills; and

• Level 3 – Streets providing access to neighborhoods and main connections at the neighborhood level.

Roughly 470 lane miles are treated for Level 1 and 2 streets in the City’s limits. Level 3 streets are treated as resources are available, once higher-priority and heavier-traveled routes are cleared.

Snow preparations are a year-round effort involving equipment inspections, Snow and Ice Removal Plan updates (made each fall), brine and salt inventory upkeep, and more.


When it comes to snow, the City has a multi-faceted arsenal that includes:

• 20,000 gallons of brine, which is a pre-treatment applied to roads that lowers the temperature at which asphalt freezes;

• 5,000 gallons of calcium chloride for extreme temperatures;

• 2,000 tons of rock salt;

• 23 trucks used for plowing and salting, and six trucks used for brine application; and 

• Up to 75 employees used as needed for storm response.