Where We Stand

Lots and lots of people are without power. According to NES, as of 3 p.m., just over 225,000 meters were without power. I do not have internet outage numbers, but I have no reason to think they are much, if any, different.

For context, if 220,000 meters are without power, then multiple times that number of people are without power. In short, most of Nashville is without power. I expect this number to creep higher as the winds pick up this afternoon and through tomorrow. NES has hundreds of people currently working and coming in to work, and they will be working around the clock until power is restored to everyone.

To report a power outage, please text 637797 or call (615) 234-0000. Please do not call 911. Our responders are getting lots of outage calls, and we need to keep the lines open for emergencies.

To downed power lines or trees across streets, please use Hub Nashville, either on the app or at hub.nashville.gov. TDOT, NDOT, and OEM links are currently up on Hub Nashville for additional information.

With trees still coming down, the cold getting worse, and the vast majority of people without power, this will not be a quick fix. For those here then, we’ve reached 1994 levels of outages and cold. This will take days, not hours, to fix.

Where To Get Warm

Office of Emergency Management and the Nashville Fire Department are opening the following warming locations, each of which will be open 24/7 until further notice:

• All Nashville Fire Stations

• Community Rooms at the following Police Stations:

  • North, West, Hermitage, Madison, South, Midtown Hills, Southeast 

The Parks Department will be opening the following Community Centers for people wanting to get out of the cold:

• Southeast Regional Community Center (5260 Hickory Hollow Pkwy, Suite 202, Antioch, TN 37103)

• Madison Community Center (550 North Dupont Ave., Madison, TN 372115)

• Nashville Fairgrounds (401 Wingrove Street, Nashville, TN 37203)

Pets are allowed at all locations.

If you go to a warming station, bring whatever it is you think you need for however long you think you may need it.

If you need to leave your home because you are cold (or for any other reason), please, please be careful.

Other Updates of Note

• Bus service is currently suspended due to deteriorating road conditions.

• The Mayor has declared a state of emergency.

• MNPS has announced it is closed at least Monday and Tuesday.

• Trash and recycling services have been suspended for Monday. Waster Services will continue to monitor road conditions and update its schedule throughout the week.

• Many people are encountering cell service issues. Make sure your wifi is turned off, but also know that there seem to be some issues for some carriers today.

Things To Do

We currently have football playing on the radio in our house.

There is a monopoly game (Nashville version!) going with my girls and my dad. Someone just very excitedly landed on Nashville Palace.

If you can get online, you can still check out books from the library using the Library’s Libby app.

If you have no power but have a gas stove or oven, you should still be able to cook. Just make sure not to use your oven to heat your home, as it is not a safe option.

I’d really like my kids to get outside, but we have way too many trees and power lines down and continuing to come down around us for that to be an option. If you do not have to get out, do not go out. Trees will continue to snap as the wind picks up. You do not want to be between a falling tree and the ground. You do not want to get stuck behind or struck by a power line taken down by a falling tree.

Final Notes

And as always, please reach out to me should you need anything, want to see anything in the newsletter, or otherwise have any comments or questions! And for non-newsletter updates and more pensive musings, please check out my substack.