Seasonal

Getting ready for winter in East Tennessee

East Tennessee winters are mostly wet rather than deeply snowy, with a handful of ice days and much worse conditions the moment you gain elevation toward the plateau or the mountains. Wet grip and tire pressure matter here more than snow tires do.

Tread depth is wet-weather grip

Tread exists to move water out from under the tire. At 2/32 inch a tire is legally worn out, but wet stopping distances start growing badly from around 4/32 inch — long before it is illegal. Use the quarter test: if you can see the top of Washington's head, start planning replacement before the wet season rather than after your first scare on a rainy night on Pellissippi.

Cold air means low pressure

Pressure falls roughly one PSI for every ten-degree drop. A cold snap can put every tire on the car several PSI low overnight, which is usually the first time the dashboard TPMS light of the year comes on. Check pressure cold, and do not assume the warning light is faulty just because the tire looks fine — most under-inflation is invisible.

Ice days and elevation

Knoxville itself gets relatively few hard freezes, but the picture changes fast heading up toward Crossville and the plateau, or east into the mountains. If you commute that way, tread depth and even wear matter far more than they do for in-town driving. Bridges and overpasses freeze first — an alignment that pulls is a genuine hazard on them.

Batteries fail in the first cold snap

Cold thickens the oil the starter turns and cuts the chemical output of the battery at the same time. A battery that has been slow cranking through autumn will usually be the one that will not start on the first properly cold morning. Testing takes minutes.