Slipping, sliding

Thursday's snowfall may have been lighter than was predicted earlier in the week, but combined with the bitterly-cold temperatures it can still pose problems.

Bedford County Schools remained closed for a second day on Friday.

Bedford County Highway Superintendent Stanley Smotherman said that sometimes a half inch of snow can cause more problems for drivers than a six-inch snowfall. Drivers go out on roads that seem clear, let their guard down and then hit a patch of "black ice," the term for icy pavement that isn't readily visible.

Smotherman said the county's two salt trucks are concentrating on steep hills, but he said salt is only effective at melting ice at temperatures of 20 degrees or above. Overnight lows in Middle Tennessee were in the teens, meaning that ice could form even on salted roads.

Smotherman said some roads had dried off overnight, even with the freezing temperatures. He said he hoped the temperature would moderate enough during the day to allow the salt to do its job on other roads.

Mark Clanton of Shelbyville Public Works said the city's main roads are in good shape but that many secondary roads and residential areas are "still pretty slick." Clanton said that with overnight wind chills of 5 to 7 degrees below zero predicted for the weekend, those secondary roads will likely have some moisture on them until Monday.

Secondary roads in the city and county began freezing about mid-afternoon Thursday, some covered with a thin layer of snow and some freezing into black ice.

Several vehicles were reported in ditches near Cascade High School and nearby Wartrace-Bell Buckle Road, while another vehicle slid off Sims Road near Coble Road intersection. No one was injured, officials said.

David Crowell of Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewerage System said the system has had 10 water line breaks and has had to replace about 50 frozen water meters as a result of the cold snap. The most recent of those water line breaks was this morning in the Depot Street area, and Crowell said his crews were still trying to identify the specific location.

Crowell said the power system had survived the cold snap with few problems, primarily one bad transformer which needed to be replaced, affecting a small number of homes.

Charles McDonald of Duck River Electric Membership Corp. reported no problems so far with DREMC's power system in Bedford County.

"As of now, we are in good shape," he said, although he noted that high winds plus very low temperatures can sometimes cause trouble for power lines.

--David Melson contributed to this story.