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Give a weather geek a little free time, and he's going to end up where it's the most extreme. When it comes to upslope snow events in the National Weather Service-Blacksburg's warning area, that would almost always be Quinwood, W.Va., in western Greenbrier County. I headed that way, arriving on some slushy/snowy highways at about 2 p.m. When I got there, a heavy snow squall was ongoing, with about 1/8 mile visibility in wind-whipped, large conglomerated snowflakes. I have been there a few times before, since I know about a town park that has a nice hiking trail. But the roads were a little too dicey this time, and I didn't try to get to the park. I parked near the post office and walked around the town a bit, eventually reaching the small hiking trail for a short walk with my dog, Cindy. My dog is a knee-high brown mutt, but she was up to her neck at times in the snow, which was reported at 14 inches about an hour after I was there (by 7 p.m., it went up to 17 inches).  The snow whipped around for a while as I sank up over my boots (should have brought my snowshoes ... I would have if I had had time for longer hike) and Cindy more or less swam in the fluffy snow (with the long retractable leash as sort of a lifeline ... or a means of pulling me into hip-deep snow in a ditch once). But almost like a switch had been flipped, this particular snow squall passed and the sun actually poked out. The half-inch or so that had accumulated in a few minutes turned slushy and wet on the asphalt, giving me a good chance to slip out before the next snow squall slickened things up again.

Click below for some larger photos from Quinwood:

* Post office;
* dog in the snow;
* dog's path through the snow;
* snowplow;
* snow on trees;
* drifts at stop sign

On the drive up, I encountered flurries throughout much of Botetourt and Alleghany counties, then hit heavier snow showers just west of Covington. The snow broke off and the sun came out around White Sulphur Springs and Lewisburg, W.Va., but then I hit a wall of snow as I drove west and then northwest into western Greenbrier County. A fascinating afternoon with a particularly early and significant upslope snowfall event, enhanced by some upper-atmospheric energy and even some instability.

Below are a few snowfall amounts around the area as reported to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg today. Keep in mind that these reports were at different times through the day, and due to the spotty and streaky nature of the snow, amounts often varied within just a few miles. 

* Quinwood, W.Va.,  14 inches
* Tazewell,  5 inches
* Alum Ridge, 3 inches
* Dublin,  2.5 inches
* Wytheville, 2 inches
* Radford, 2 inches
* Mountain Lake, 2 inches
* Hot Springs, 2 inches
* Fairlawn, 1.5 inches
* Blacksburg, 1 inch
* Peaks of Otter, 1 inch
* Paint Bank, 1 inch
* Roanoke   0.4 inch

A complete listing can be found by clicking here