Salt use unlikely as flurries fly

Highway Superintendent Stanley Smotherman stands in front of part of the county's salt stash. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Although snow showers are predicted today, no accumulation is expected, and Bedford County Highway Department probably won't need to break out its supply of road salt.

Highway Superintendent Stanley Smotherman said the county hasn't bought salt in the past three years.

When salt is needed, it's mixed with fine limestone gravel, which provides traction.

The county will get its snow plow ready later this month, Smotherman said, in case this winter brings the kind of snowfall that hasn't been seen in several years.

National Weather Service meteorologist Bobby Boyd in Nashville says temperatures were in the mid to high 30s Monday morning amid snow flurries. Expected highs are in the same range.

Light snowfall accumulations up to an inch are possible on the Cumberland Plateau and mountains of East Tennessee.

Nearly a dozen school systems were closed Monday, and the weather also delayed the opening of a hospital in East Tennessee.

Tuesday's forecast for Shelbyville is partly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 40s.

-- Associated Press reports contributed to this story.