'Significant' snow could be coming to East Tennessee: See predictions

Allison Kiehl, Knoxville News Sentinel

Tue, January 20, 2026 at 5:23 PM UTC

3 min read

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The "s" word is back in the forecast.

Knoxville and East Tennessee could get snow Jan. 23 and Jan. 24. The snow is a result of a major winter storm coming to a large swath of the eastern United States, according to the National Weather Service.

The snowstorm is forecast to be a "significant weather event," according to a National Weather Service Morristown office meteorologist Charles Dalton. East Tennessee could receive irregularly high snowfall total.

"The chances for a significant winter storm appear high right now," Dalton said.

After the snow has fallen, cold weather will settle in, meaning ice or snow could stick around for days before melting.

The storm could be similar to what happened in Knoxville in January 2024, Dalton said. That means there's potential for more than 6 inches of snow and longer-term impacts on the roads.

Here's what to expect.

How much snow is Knoxville supposed to get?

It's too early to say exactly how much snow Knoxville and East Tennessee could get on Saturday, Jan. 24, Dalton said, but it will begin to come into focus as the date gets closer.

In pursuit of the most accurate weather predictions, meteorologists typically wait until about three days ahead of a storm to forecast how many inches of rain or snow an area may get.

A week before a snowstorm, meteorologists at the National Weather Service monitor at least three separate models to create a forecast: One American, one European and one from the United Kingdom. Three days before a snowstorm, there are more weather models for forecasters to use.

"We look at the big picture first, then we look at the fine details and what is most likely," Dalton said.

Freezing temperatures to follow snowstorm

Despite how much snow falls on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, it will stick around for days, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

The highs are forecasted to hang around the freezing mark into next week, according to Dalton.

"The cold air behind the storm is going to keep it around for several days," Dalton said.

What is a 'significant' snowstorm?

"Significant" is a subjective term depending on a region's normal weather patterns. What it means to have "normal" or "significant" amount of snow will vary from city to city.

In East Tennessee, Dalton considers a snowfall total of 6 inches or more to be a significant amount.

What happened in January 2024?

Knoxvillians will remember the major storm that shut down the city in 2024. Schools were out for many days and life in East Tennessee essentially came to a halt after heavy snow infiltrated the region and stuck around.

There were seven straight days with at least 4 inches of snow on the ground because cold temperatures means it didn't melt, according to Knoxville records.

Nine people died in that snowstorm, mostly from exposure to the cold.

When was the last time East Tennessee had a big snowstorm?

It's not unprecedented for Knoxville to get a significant amount of snow over 24 hours, but it is rare. There have been nine occasions where Knoxville got 8 inches of snow or more in 24 hours since 1884, according to the National Weather Service.

There have been seven instances of this happening in the Tri-Cities since 1938 and eight times where Chattanooga got more than 8 inches of snow in one day.

Here's when the most recent major snowstorms hit East Tennessee.

More than 8 inches of snow in 24 hours

Chattanooga: Jan 10-11, 2011
Knoxville: Jan. 15-16, 2024
Tri-Cities: Dec. 9, 2018

More than 10 inches of snow in 24 hours

Chattanooga: March 12-13, 1993
Knoxville: March 12-13, 1993
Tri-Cities: Feb 2-3, 1996

Knoxville weather radar

Allison Kiehl covers trending and breaking news from Knoxville for the Tennessee Connect Team. Email: allison.kiehl@knoxnews.com

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville weather forecast: How many inches of snow this weekend?

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