Red Cross opens shelter as thousands remain without power - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Thousands of people in Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky remained without electricity Monday night following an early March winter storm that brought down trees and power lines across the region.

At one point Monday morning, more than 19,000 customers in Middle Tennessee didn't have electricity.

As of 9:15pm, Dickson Electric System said it still had about 6,400 without power; Nashville Electric Service listed 900 outages; and Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation reported about 400 outages.

Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative reported about 350 outages at 5 p.m., which was down from nearly 4,000 outages earlier in the day in Hickman, Lewis, Humphreys and Houston counties.

The American Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at the Walnut Street Church of Christ, at 201 Center Ave. in Dickson, for those people without electricity at home.

State and local officials urged people to stay home Monday and not get on the icy roads unless absolutely necessary.

State offices were closed Monday in Nashville, as were dozens of school districts across the area. Many schools are expected to remain closed Tuesday while county road crews continue to clear residential streets and rural highways.

Metro police officers responded to 276 vehicle crash calls between midnight and 11 a.m. Monday. Thirty-five of those crashes had injuries. None of the injuries are said to have been critical.

In Clarksville, police reported 113 vehicle crashes and approximately 200 motorist assist calls between Sunday night and 1 p.m. Monday. None of the Clarksville crashes resulted in injuries.

One crash on I-65 North involved five tractor-trailers, and drivers were stuck on I-65 South for quite some time when the interstate closed after another crash.

Lanes of westbound Briley Parkway were blocked for several hours after a jack-knifed tractor-trailer started leaking fuel at Gallatin Pike.

Nashville MTA buses ran on snow routes Monday.

Metro's Emergency Operations Center remains partially activated, and officials ask those with non-emergencies to call (615) 862-8600 instead of 911, which should only be used for emergencies.

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