Mother Nature Causes Bad Friday The 13th

Storms passed through Cocke County Thursday afternoon leaving a trail of downed trees and limbs in their wake. The storm left over 2,000 Newport Utility customers without power. Most of them were in the Bogard Road area near the Sevier County line, an area northeast of Parrottsville and the Hartford area. As of 9am Friday, there were still 323 customers without power in the county.

The storm also caused damage at the Newport Grammar School. The roof and some of the windows suffered damage causing the school to cancel classes for Friday.

Cold air has now moved in and snow is forecast for Friday afternoon and evening. Fears of winter weather caused the Cocke County school system to close schools on Friday out of caution. Sevier County schools were closed as well. Some areas of the Smoky Mountains could see 12-24 inches of snow by late Saturday morning as they are under a Winter Storm Warning. The foothills could see 2-6 inches accumulation according to the National Weather Service with the valley getting anywhere from a dusting to 2 inches.