Dyersburg hit by winter storm

This was the scene at Highway 51 Bypass and Lake Road on Friday afternoon. Police officials said from 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday only 5 motor vehicle accidents had occurred that required a report to be written in the city. [Click to enlarge]

Dyersburg was hit with an estimated 5 to 8 inches of snow during Friday's winter storm.

Although many roads and bridges were slick and considered dangerous, law enforcement said there were very little motor vehicle accidents that required their attention.

Capt. Steve Isbell with the Dyersburg Police Department said the DPD activated its emergency plan that limits the types of calls police respond to during inclement weather.

He said the city only had five motor vehicle accidents that required a report. Only one of the accidents, which occurred on Parr Street, had reported injuries.

Becky Boatright (rear) and Emma Ann Boatright (front), 10, zip down the hill next to the Dyer County YMCA. Thursday night, Becky Boatright and her granddaughters slept with their pajamas inside out and a spoon under their pillows so it would snow. [Click to enlarge]

Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Holt said the majority of wrecks in the county were single vehicles sliding off the road. He said there were no injuries other than two incidents where children were being pulled by a four-wheeler and struck a tree.

"We've been pretty fortunate," said Holt. "Tonight will make it worse. The secondary roads are solid ice."

Tennessee Highway Patrol Capt. Joel Deal said the THP only worked around four wrecks in Dyer County before 5:30 p.m. on Friday and none were reported to them in Lake County. Deal said there was one report of a fatality on Highway 19 in Haywood County, which was a single-vehicle accident. He noted there were several accidents on I-40 as well.

Deal said they have extra troopers working during the bad weather and will bring out more if they are needed.

"We'll get out however many we've got to have to handle the situation," said Deal.

A vehicle is stuck in the median on Highway 412. Although roads were slick and considered dangerous to drive on, the Tennessee Highway Patrol only reported around 4 wrecks in Dyer County before 5:30 p.m. on Friday and none were reported to them in Lake County. [Click to enlarge]

He believes that many people stayed in on Friday, which attributed to the few number of wrecks that took place.

While some residents chose to stay in, some took the opportunity to do some sledding on the hill at College Street in downtown Dyersburg.

Becky Boatright brought two of her grandchildren, Emma Ann Boatright, 10, and Eva Boatright, 5, and their friend Anna Brook Coker, 10, to the hill to do some sledding with the family dog, Ash.

"I like it," said Emma Ann Boatright. "It's really fun. I've been waiting on it all year. It was supposed to snow not too long ago and then it ended up not snowing."

Tiffany McCraw (left), 14, and Savannah King (right), 15, smile after a harrowing sleigh ride down College Street. [Click to enlarge]

Coker said it was her first time to slide down the hill at this particular location and she was having fun.

"I love it," said Coker.

Becky Boatright said the night before, she and the children slept with their pajamas inside out and a spoon under their pillows so it would snow.

Sunday's weather is expected to be sunny with a high near 30 degrees and wind-chill values as low as zero. Sunday night will be clear with a low around 12 degrees.

Monday's forecast is sunny, with a high near 38 degrees and a nighttime low of around 26 degrees.

Jacob Cruz, 13, catches air on his surf sled as he makes a jump at the football field by the YMCA. [Click to enlarge]