As predicted, December 22nd brought upon the Mid-South, including Lakeland, freezing cold Siberian air overnight. The cold weather shattered long held records and wreaked havoc for many drivers. Around 1pm on December 23rd, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced rolling blackouts due to an overloaded system trying to keep up with the dangerous wintry weather and many Lakeland neighborhoods experienced outages that lasted approximately one hour. Roads lacking sunlight, such as Canada Road and Memphis Arlington, were dangerous to drive due to icy conditions. Beverle Rivera was blocked off completely and is still closed as of 3:30 this afternoon.
A snowstorm close to Christmas did have its advantages though. The Christmas lights glistening with the snow and ice added some holiday cheer. Unfortunately for kids (large and small) there just wasn’t enough for much sledding or snowmen.
Some churches in the Memphis area have already canceled their Friday Christmas services but still hope to have their Christmas Eve programs on Saturday evening. As usual, Lakeland residents come together in times like this which reminds us all of the true Christmas spirit.
