Sunday afternoon/evening snow thread: 1-inch-per-hour rates, “thundersnow” possible
Latest NWS-Blacksburg radar linked here
The Roanoke and New River valleys have entered that afternoon lull I mentioned on Saturday, as we are between some of the early bands moving north (looks like at least one more heavy one coming in about 30 minutes to an hour) and what will likely be the meat of the snowfall, the “deformation zone” or “comma head” with the upper-level low tracking eastward. That period of snow will likely begin before an hour or two before sundown and take us into the evening. The Storm Prediction Center issued a mesoscale discussion earlier this afternoon circling our region and noting the possibility of both 1-inch-per-hour snowfall rates and even some “thundersnow,” which simply means having atmospheric dynamics that might support some random bolts of lightning (usually cloud to cloud, not cloud to ground) and the accompanying rumbles of thunder. If you ever hear thunder when it’s snowing, you know it’s putting it down or about to. Snow amounts so far have mostly been in the 1-2-inch range. Most areas north to about Hot Springs, Lexington and northern Amherst County, south to the Virginia-North Carolina state line and a little beyond, will probably get at least 3 inches out of the deformation zone snow, and I could see some areas getting 6 or even 8 if a heavy snow band happens to set up overhead for a while. So that’s where we stand moving toward late afternoon. The main piece of what we’ve been talking about for days isn’t quite here, yet.
February 19, 2012 - 3:05 PM
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That band moving in from the south looks pretty impressive. I wonder if there isn’t some sleet in that yellow area. If not then that is some serious snow coming down.
Just posted on the old blog so will repost here. Heavy snow in Woodlawn! This is the inch or more per hour stuff coming down now! Hope it keeps it up for a while…
Yipee…that southern trend was inaccurate….we are back in the SNOW ZONE!!
Large clumpy snowflakes often give the heavy returns, John.
Speaking of radar and snow — NWS-Blacksburg scheduled to upgrade to “dual polarization” radar in October. It is supposed to have heightened capability to tell precipitation types apart on radar than the current version of the Doppler. Don’t know technically much more about it than that, but will be learning before then.
Random note to throw in …
Yes,Doug, my part of Carroll county is now in a whiteout,driveway covered in less than 15mins and starting to stick on street in front of house.
Flakes flying furiously and fanatically in Fincastle! haha Always try to throw in a little alliteration with my snow storms!!
Sometimes in these little lulls when it’s near or slightly above freezing it’s not unusual to get a little drizzle or very light rain. That’s not really a “changeover” of precipitation, it’s just that the lower clouds aren’t cold enough for snowflakes to form, and sometimes spit out just a little liquid when the colder snow clouds aren’t present for a bit. When the next band arrives it’s all snow again.
Not even much of a lull here (Roanoke county), never stopped snowing entirely and radar quickly filling back in.
Hey Kevin in confused with what the radar is showing. Is that bulk of moisture to the west going to come over us? It appears that it is going north but from models I have seen this storm is supposed to come over our area even though it is not appearing that way. Is the storm going to be pushed back down by the low when it moves up?
Kevin,
Need your thoughts on Culpeper, just clouds and low 40′s at this point.
1.7″ of snow in Bedford. Very light snow falling with radar looking much better to our southwest.
NWS blacksburg has bumped up their snow numbers for tonight. Roanoke City now between 4.5-5 inches for the storm total.
Pouring down here in Carroll near KHLX. I-77 getting white. Turned on police scanner and there are wrecks everywhere. My unofficial temp 30.2. Driveway and road got white in 10 minutes or so.
Main event has arrived here. HEAVY snow, easily an inch per hour rate.
Driveway has turned white again.
Hope you guys are enjoying the snow down in ole southwest! Not a flake to be found here in Greene county, even though the radar had looked like its been over us for the last few hours! This really sucks, just bring on spring and put this pathetic winter to rest!
Just measured snow on my truck’s bed rail (which has been undisturbed all day), and I have 1 5/8 inches already. I am not taking into account of melting snow/wet snow, but that seem to be just about right. Oh, I’m from Christiansburg.
If anyone cares, I kept posting a few times at end of previous thread.
Snowing very hard in the town of Floyd. Snow rates like this may even exceed the “inch per hour”. Radar looks pretty good now as well.
Some chores have been accomplished. Afternoon French Press coffee is currently being enjoyed.
Conditions Base of Bent Mt.
Air Temp 31.2 and gradually falling
Dewpoint 29
Raised surface snow (middle of deck) 2.75″
Paved driveway/roads are clear with a bit of ‘creep’ on the edge
Snow, continuous. Sometimes lighter than others, but even during the recent dry slot, it never stopped. Intensity has picked up slightly last 15 mins.
Neighborhood kids have switched from driveway saucering to grass.
Currently contemplating different body postures for pending snowman construction. Reading old Calvin and Hobbes comics for inspiration.
I am looking forward to a Myatt family snowtime report!! Extremely light snizzle again here … much heavier stuff gettin’ much closer now. The Doppler Gal is getting heavy bands about now (if not, then very soon), I bet. howsabout you, Indian Valley Mile-Long-Gravel-Driveway John?? At least moderate snow your way??
After an afternoon lull, it started snowing pretty heavily again. We’re up to 4 1/2 inches now in Rural Retreat.
So how much additional snow can we expect in Roanoke? Any chance it will accumulate on the road?
It’s been pretty. It hasn’t been an inconvience, it allowed us to cook that pot of beans, soup, stew, and it let us know what snow looks. Soooooo, let’s get on with spring. 72* is sounding better all the time. Today is a good day to end winter.
It is a white out up here on the ridge (2546 ft) near the Doppler Radar. In the last little bit snow has really picked up in intensity. Phew! Temps dropping quickly too – now down to 28 F. Drive and road (both gravel) now are covered! Snow is really piling up. Still haven’t measured depth.
HokieTrax – so glad to hear that you made it back! Welcome Home.
Kevin be sure you get pictures of you and the little man out in the snow with the snowman. It will help him remember as he grows up. (It will help you remember too!)
Still not a lot of accumulation out here in Narrows (just enough to cover the grass and make the trees look like a winter wonderland), but it just started sticking to the main roads and sidewalks. The temperature is down to 33 so it’ll probably start to get deeper now. Yay!
Intensity is picking up. Small, serious flakes and little snowballs, in a hurry to get to the ground. Driveway is getting ‘cloudy’ and the creep is edging towards the middles foot by foot. I think the Main Event is starting to unfold here at the base of Bent Mt.
The deformation zone often throws people quite literally for a loop watching it on radar. The whole area is moving generally east, but different pieces of it are moving northeast or southeast depending on where the low center is, and the back part of it often just seems to kind of disintegrate rather than move anywhere.
It is generally moving our way, does appear to be somewhat north of what we were thinking this morning, and a heavy snow band is setting up now through the middle of our area, about to cover the Roanoke and New River valleys (snow has picked up a lot at my location in the last 15 minutes).
Culpeper may have a shot of getting in on this, Northern Snowman. Will be a close call.
Steady fine snow in Glenvar, starting to stick on the north side of the buildings too.
Looks like heavier bands are starting to move back into Lynchburg as well.
1/2 hour after my last post, 2 inches have fallen to make it a 4 inches per hour rate. Can barely see through the falling snow. From the looks of the radar, I’ve had several heavy snow bands tracking through my neck of the woods. I feel horrible so I am taking a sick day tomorrow and will do the road plowing tomorrow but hopefully it will melt off enough to avoid plowing.
picked up here…my internet has been out much of the afternoon so I’m stuck with my phone. Much of what has fallen has melted here. ground is white but I would say no more than 2″ in the heaviest areas of accumulation. it is holding at 32° right now. we have had some sneet too! glad to hear more is coming because this has been disappointing for a snow lover!
Wow, finally the skies have opened up and a little light snow has made it into Greene county! Dont look for much accumulation since its 37 and snowing so lightly, but during a winter of this suckiness it will have to suffice!
2and7/8 inches on the Happy Hollow weather deck just east of Blacksburg. Knocked off lots of snow from bushes and vulnerable trees. Pretty miserable out there. All snow but feels like a frigid rain.
Amazingly tire ruts on gravel driveway still showing but getting slushy.
It finally started snowing here and the ground is starting to whiten up some. Doubt there will be a need to get the snowthrower out for this one though. Grateful to see some snow falling though.
First time today the turn around has started to get white today. Puttit down now.
As we get under the colder air with the upper low, the snowflake type is changing from the clumpy, large wet snow we saw earlier to a finer snow. It may sound counterintuitive to some, but the finer snow gives more accumulation for less moisture. That’s because the flakes have more “arms” forming in the colder air, and they push each other away on the ground and have more air between them. Also, they don’t melt into each other on the way down, they stay separate.
The next couple of hours or so may provide some of the most intense snow the Roanoke and New River Valleys have seen since the Dec. 18-19, 2009 storm. IV John is reporting a 2-inch-per-hour pace in southern Floyd County. Road conditions will deteriorate fast, especially now that we’re past the peak sun height and also likely starting to draw colder air on the backside of the surface low well to our east.
Snowing moderately to heavily in Salem. Starting to coat pavement ever so slightly. Areas that had melted off are quickly coated again.
Coming down pretty hard here at my house. Still nothing on the driveway or road, but I think that will be changing soon.
Here in Floyd it is coming down steady. Can’t see the top of Carol’s weather-ball as I usually can. Visibility definitely impaired and the kids are ecstatic!
After a solid hour of heavy snow and 2.5″ total, now the second doughnut hole has appeared over my house in Woodlawn. Looks like an hour or so of minimal snow before the final push looks to come through. Y’all enjoy what we had a little while ago up towards Roanoke ’cause its coming your way! May have to make a little snow cream later on tonight!!
Here we finally go in Salem with the snow sticking turning the roads and sidewalks white.
Snowfall has really intensified in Radford/Fairlawn in the past 30-45 minutes. There was a stalemate between sticking and melting for a while, but the pendulum has definitely swung in favor of sticking. Parking lots that had been steadily melting and staying clear all day are now coated with .5 inches of snow or more and steadily getting worse. I’ve also noticed that the falling snow is now icier and more compact as opposed to the big fluffy flakes from earlier.
Snow is coming down pretty nicely here in Greene now! Temp dropped from 37 to 31 in less then half hour. Ground is whitening, but it has started to late in the storm to have much accumulation I think. Kevin, do you know how much longer the Charlottesville area will recieve snow? Will it last til at least 9 or 10 pm?
Kevin – what is your best guess as to when “accumulating” snow will end (approx. time) for NRV and RNK? We have 3″ in Blacksburg now, and snowing at 1″ per hour rate at least. Temp down to 30.
Something I’ve noticed this afternoon on radar is right when I think Im gettin “dry slotted”, it fills in. It seems to me that rarely happens to our area. It almost always goes the other way. Probabaly dont mean anything. Just thought it was worth mentioning.
Coming down hard here behind Tanglewood mall, looking out the window at Colonial Ave near Ogden road and it has just gone from wet, to showing some white in the past 20 minutes. Time to go build a snowman, starting to cover some driveways.
Woo Doggies! It is COMING DOWN at Bent Mt. All roads covered. Looks like rate is at least an inch/hour.
In other news, the black-capped chickadee convention is in full swing, but the tufted titmice are starting to get rowdy and belligerent. Chickadee’s may wrap it up early, before trouble starts and things get out of hand.
After a long snowless slot, it did pretty well the last two hours and is still going………..5 1/2 inches so far on my snowboard. Yes, I swept that off once.
LOVE IT, great reporting and thank you Kevin
Just over 3 inhces here in Elliston at 2022- my parents about 800 feet below are just starting to see it cover the grass.
Very heavy snow here in the Hollins area. Looks like the main attraction we were waiting,craving,agonizing over all day is FINALLY here. It has gotton so bad here that all government offices and banks have already closed for tomorrow-Happy Presidents Day everybody! Stay safe and enjoy.
Northern Blacksburg…coming in hard as a fine snow, roads went from clear to covered and bad in about 30 mins. Temps at 30 with a couple inches on the deck. I’ve heard the roads are bad in CBurg especially around the mall area.
Really coming down hard in the Cave Spring area of Roanoke. Elev. at my house around 1140 feet. Almost looks like dusk outside it’s so thick. Sidewalks and road have started to turn white in the last 15 minutes.
Stay safe out there and remember to say thank you to the plow and salt truck drivers who are out there putting in long hours on what was supposed to be a long weekend for most of them.
I think most accumulating snow is over by 10. Maybe some light snow continuing after that.
Coming down like gangbusters in SW Roanoke City. Roads that were bare all day got covered in minutes. Temp is 32.7 and slowly falling. Heaviest snow of the day is right now! Can’t see a house that I know is a quarter mile away. And I was walking the greenway yesterday with no coat on!
So very pretty outside. And BTW, this is happening with a positive AO, positive NAO and trending negative PNA, so I guess anything really can happen.
And I haven’t seen anything from Quagmire since last night, but I hope he is still out there reading the blog. Even though he may have gone too high on amounts, I still appreciate his input and excitement, and I think he was also one of the first to even mention the possibility of a storm in this time frame. And of course Kevin as well, just an all around great week of discussion leading up to the big event that indeed did follow through, at least for the most part. Thanks again!
My four pawed snow lover went outside ten minutes ago and determined that the snow was just deep enough to roll in. He rolled and wiggled on his back, throwing all four paws up like he was peddling the air. The definition of true joy. We watched and laughed. Bring on the snow!!!
Heavy snow has moved back into the Vinton area. And the roads are becoming quickly covered.
lovely thick snow, from 2- to workin’-on-3 inches in Callaway ~ beautiful!
Coming down in Grandin! Streets are now covered!
snowing very heavy in old southwest Roanoke, roads are turning white.
It is really coming down fast and furious now! Measured 5″ on our deck at 4:30.
(Our location is top of Bent Mountain, near the Parkway).
Hey, Ben, what kind of accumulation are you getting at the base of the mountain?
Kevin, if we’re at 5″ now, we should be well on our way to 8″, dontcha think?
The more, the merrier!
Looks like the precipitation field is getting into the DC area! This wasnt suppose to happen according to the local METS this morning. Has the storm jogged to the north? Could the Greene county area get in on some of those 3-6 inch totals. Looking at radar just a few seconds ago and it still looks like alot of storm to come through Cenral Virginia!
Graupel is falling in Lynchburg.. or snow pellets..
Nothing in DC. Probly virga. Still just calling for a few snow showers in DC metro. All of my former friends and neighbors in Forest Edge subdivision at he base of Bent Mtn and out on Cotton Hill will enjoy tonight. As well as my peeps back in Puuulaski! Enjoy, we’re sitting this one out up in the nations capital.
I notice on the radar that the area SW of Wytheville is starting to fill in again.
WOW a difference 20 mins makes…. Road is white, grass is covered, and driveway is looking like a chore
. For those who don’t know I’m at the Roanoke Salem Line off of Brandon at 1000 ft.
The heavy snow band did start with snow pellets for a bit here, too, Alex.
I’m getting close to 4 inches at my location in south Roanoke County, 1400 feet, now.
Radar looks good right now. Really hoping we get 5 or 6 inches in roanoke.
Coming down very heavy on the lake right now near moneta. If it snows like this until 9pm we may get a foot.
We have 5 inches on the ground here in alum ridge floyd and it appears the main system is now arriving!
Within the past hour here in South Roanoke County we’ve gone from primarily wet snow (about 1 inch accumulation and only in spots) with clear roads to serious snowfall, with the roads covered and close to 3 inches accumulation.
I-81 traffic cams look pretty nasty. Exit 150 looks bad.
Wow, I hope it keeps up like this. Can’t get over how quickly things changed in the past 30 minutes or so. Everything, including the parking lot and sidewalks, is white now and I haven’t seen snow this heavy in I don’t know how long. Love it!
Over 4″ on da Knob now. Let up some.
5 inches on Jeters Chapel, and really comin down now!!
Four inches of snow now in Staunton as of 5 PM.
Jared,
I sure hope it can keep moving north!!!! Keep me posted. Your information gives me hope that it still may get here.
6.5 inches total now in Rural Retreat. That’s 2 inches of new accumulation in the last hour. The pine tree limbs are starting to droop under the “frosting” of snow.
Wren, about 4.5 here at the base, but that’ll increase quickly at this rate. Driveways/road has a good inch built up now.
In other news, the cat has now turned around on his bed and all the coffee is gone. An all-out donnybrook occurred between 2 chickadee factions. I’m thinking the titmice encouraged the fracas. Since the snow rate increase, only a few conventioneers are still hanging around. Contemplating a bracing bowl of chili or snowman construction before nightfall.
Picked up about 2″ in an hour with that heavy band that moved through. Around 3.5″ now in Carroll County at my location. MOderate snows have continued as bands are now moving w-e across the area – deform zone now moving through my area.
I still cannot understand how folks dislike snow. It’s absolutely beautiful outside right now!
Bring it!
That radar looks good. About 3″ in Eastern Giles and coming down fast. I just rode sleds with my kids 40 minutes ago, and you can see those paths now.
Seems like it has snowed an inch in the past 30 minutes here in Roanoke
Kevin that 500 feet seem to be about -1.5 to 2 inches in total. The issue I had here at outpost 1000 ft. after the initial .5 it just stopped as the day got warmer. Just imagine if it would have been right at 32 all day.. I know I know; give me an inch I want 3 more.
Heavy snow now in Bedford. Finally starting to stick to the pavement.
Falling heavy in Bedford City with about 3 inches on the ground and the roads just outside the city limits already covered. Just waiting for the news that schools are closed tomorrow.
Doug, my house location is exactly at 1,555 ft in the Blacksburg Country Club. Yes, it is considerably lower than B’burg or C’burg, both of which are around 2,200 ft. Every morning and evening, coming out and in of the valley, it gets tough with snow, but there are about 4-5 ways to get out of the valley, all of which basically involve a 500 ft. somewhat steep road (especially Harding Ave-turns into Catawba Road and Nellies Cave Road). I am slightly higher than where you and Kevin are. It’s interesting, Paris Mtn. right next to my house is nearly at 3,000 ft. I’m at the base of that. I’m probably around the elevation at the base of C’bur Mtn. if you wanted a good comparison. The Elett Valley though is sort of like a halfway mark between the base of the Roanoke Valley floor (is that near the Roanoke River Greenway or Park?) and the top of B’burg.
Right now, snowing HEAVILY and temp is 33.1 F. About 3.5 inches on the ground and much more snow to come.
You can look on radar and see that the stuff lining up on I-81 is moving more east or southeast, while the stuff to the east is moving more north or northeast. Looks like we’ve reached the pivot point on the deformation zone. The upper low is doing its thing overhead now. Surface low on the coast also tightening, evidenced by some increasing winds we’re seeing.
The only times I have ever witnessed thundersnow with lightning were March 1, 2009, and Dec 18, 2009. It was incredible! Hope to see it and hear it tonight!
Northern Snowman, it started snowing lightly about 4pm here in Greene! We now have close to an inch on the ground and its still pouring down! I hope it can make it up to you! The radar had snow over us since about 2pm, but it didnt start til 4, so I guess it is just taking awhile to saturate the atmosphere and thats why they dropped our storm totals.
The “heavy” band that moved through wasn’t all that heavy.. hmm
Dumping snow in West County(Glenvar)! Measured 4″ on the deck about an hour ago. Bring it on!!!!
I just went out and measured 5 inches up here on the Windy Gap. This definitely exceeds my expectations.
Still steady comin’ down here in Bedford, as it has all day, and now starting to stick to the roads and walkways. Thanks for the great blog, Kevin.
It’s been snowing steadily in Martinsville all afternoon but it’s been very heavy for the past hour. Temps still hanging out at 33 but it’s sticking to the road and measures about 1″ on the deck. Everything’s totally snow covered now and it’s coming down so hard that I can’t see past the beginning of the woods behind my house. Just took my pup out for his first snow experience and he loved it! Looked like a little furry bear cub. Doug, I just told my husband that we’ll follow your good advice from a couple years ago and shovel our walk this evening because the slush that’s left over from this morning will probably freeze solid tonight.
wdbrand, hope that you are having a great day over your way … sounds like it. Me too. I have some big news about the end of winter, provided Mr. Myatt or Rick or someone else doesn’t beat me to it. But now is not the time, at least for me. I’m gonna let the snow lovers have all the fun they can from this gorgeous snowstorm. Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll comment on it.
Will the temp drop any once it gets completely dark? Snow has slacked slightly and it looks like some melting on the pavement has already started some.
Approaching 5″+ at the base of Bent Mt.
Temp 31.0
Dewpoint 30.0
Heavy, fine snow.
http://yfrog.com/h7f76ogj
7″ in Wytheville.
Judging by WDBJ’s snow stick cam, which is NOT the official one but very near it, Roanoke’s official measurement is likely getting close to 3 inches
http://www.wdbj7.com/weather/wdbj7-snow-stick-camera-20120120,0,3655037.htmlstory
It’s flat pouring right now on Hardy road about a mile from Vinton…this is awesome! Sweet redemption for the snow lovers, and our area being featured on the weather channel. What more could all you snow birds ask for? Let’s here a big BOOYAH for mother nature. And just think…all you of little faith were ready to cash it in last night.
About how much longer can we expect the heavy stuff to fall in Roanoke, Kevin?
I just measured 4″ of snow on my backyard deck table. The heavy band blew through at about 4:30 and quickly doubled our snow total. Road is now solidly covered and snow has let up a bit.
North Lakes, Roanoke County, just across from Northside High School
I absolutely hate snow, even though it’s beautiful to look at, but it’s a nightmare to drive through (especially with a sucky windshield wiper). I just drove around in Christiansburg, and could tell the road is starting to get slick. I actually drove mostly in 2wd except going uphill, switched to 4wd to be on the safe side, and drove at a slower pace because I don’t trust my eyes telling me the pavement isn’t that bad
I live at 1,233 feet and have 3″ of fluffy wet snow on the ground. I love snow because it is a terrific time to cook good food and drink fine spirits. I am cooking up a batch of potato chowder and chicken salad sandwiches, and then hunkering down for the evening. Yuuummm, yuuuummmm!
Just stepped out on the back deck and walked around…looks like 4.5″ ish here near Windy Gap in Franklin Co at 1197ft
Nancy just awakened from a nice nap about 15 minutes ago, came out into the living room and without looking outside, asked, “So, is the snow over with?” I told her, “Are you kidding me?!?! Take a look outside!” It was REALLY COMING DOWN then. I have to take the dog out fairly soon (I bet he will love it, but he is a lot older now, so I could be wrong about that), and I will have to wear boots. The “neat” conditions here are a thing of the past. I will measure the three types of spots (back steps, driveway, and street) when I take him out, but I just know that I am up to at least 3, possibly 4 inches on back steps. Temp is down to 32* here. And might drop a bit more in the next couple of hours.
snowing to beat the band in Garst Mill area of Roanoke Co.
Around 4-1/2 inches here in South Salem, coming down fast.
Moderate to heavy snow still falling here and the roads are white. Measured 1.5″ on top of the car’s hood. About 1/4 in of slush on the driveway and roads. Might wind up getting the snowthrower out and put it to work afterall.
Blacksburg – Woodbine/Mt Tabor area – 4.5 inches measured just now, temp at 29, 3-7mph wind, roads are covered and slick. Still coming down heavy as a very fine snow.
I forgot to mention that I heard what I think was a clap of thunder about 5:10 or 5:15. Reminds me of Red October movie, Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) to First Officer Borodin (Sam Neill): “Give me a ping, Vasily …. one ping only.”
5.5″ in Pulaski at 5:15
Checking in from Riner, elevation 2065 ft. It has been snowing all day except for a brief lull around 3pm. Incredibly heavy snow the last hour an a half. I would estimate 2 inches per hour or more. Right now we have about 3 to 5 inches covering the ground, more in places. It would be a lot more than that if the ground wasn’t so warm underneath.
To answer the question about how long heavy snow lasts in Roanoke — looks like a period of moderate to occasionally heavy snow perhaps through 8 or 9 p.m. as the deformation zone pivots through. Lighter stuff after that.
Sticking to neighborhood roads here in Daleville!!! Wahoo! Bring on a snow day tomorrow for Bot. Co.
2.25″ on my back patio at 5:25pm in the Coyner Springs area. It has been snowing hard for 45 minutes, all neighborhood roads and driveways are covered.
Jared,
Started snowing here about 30 minutes ago, still very light. Hoping that it keeps pushing to the north. Thanks for the information.
5″ in Happy Hollow just east of BBurg. Yikes. Kevin are we heading towards 10″ here
No snow here in Northen Fauquier,not one flake,but radar showing virga over us now so maybe we will get a little snow action as the sun sets.Temp at 37 and slowly falling.I`m having fun reading everyone`s snow totals.I think Rick in Wytheville is the highest iv`e seen at 7 inches.Enjoy the snow down there!
Some of you like a video clip from youtube to accompany a famous line or song. Here is one from The Hunt for Red October that includes the one ping line. Later in the movie Borodin/Sam Neill utters one of Nancy’s (and mine, too( favorite quotes from the movies, ” {Borodin lies dying from a gunshot wound} ….. (in a Russian accent) I would like to have seen Montana ….” Ok, the link to the “ping” line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr0JaXfKj68
Posted to the wrong place…oops…so…just over 4 inches in Goodview with light snow right now and a temp of 31.6.
Here in downtown Wangle Junction (Alum Ridge area) (elev. 2460) I just measured 5 1/2″ on an outdoor table. I don’t know if anyone’s noticed but the Blacksburg NWS just updated their Snowfall Accumulation Forecast with somewhat higher numbers. Where I am they’re calling for an additional 7″ (after 1 pm). At 1 pm we had 2 1/2″. That’s quite a bit more than the 6″ – 6 1/2″ they were predicting this morning.
Didn’t realize there was a new thread so I’m double posting.
Three and a half inches in the Windsor Hills section of SW Roanoke City/County. Just in from shoveling driveway, and it almost needs it again! Snowing to beat the band now. If I stroke out whilst shoveling, I appoint Trevor as VP of Snowhaters Inc., ok Griggsy?!
Quick check of the traffic cams before dark shows I64 covered from Clifton Forge to the WV line. Major traffic backup westbound at Jerry’s Run. 460 at Appomattox is covered. Rt 29 at Chatham/Blairs is covered. It’s clear sailing I81 from Harrisonburg north.
http://www.511virginia.org/Cameras.aspx?r=2
Mike Seidel from TWC is reporting from Wytheville right now. Apparantly alot of accidents reported on the interstate and other roads in Virginia. Good time to be home! Heavy snow, 4 inches now on Falls Ridge, 1,800 ft near North Fork Rd and Ellett. Wind picking up a bit, out of E/NE 5 mph with some gusts to 10-12. 29 degrees Barometer bottomed at 29.82 at 3:30 this afternoon and is now rising a bit, currently at 29.87.
The eastern edge of this system has finally dragged its butt east of I-75 in eastern Kentucky. Amount of precip coverage in the northeast corner of Tenn. seems to be shrinking, too. Rejoice, snow lovers, we still have hours of snow remaining.
We’ve got about 3″ here in Narrows now, so around 2″ in the last hour. It’s laying heavy on the trees and the power went out briefly a few minutes ago. 460 must be pretty bad because VDOT hasn’t gotten to Rt. 100 yet.
It is beautiful. I took a few photos in case I get nostalgic for snow again later this winter.
Anyone know what 11/81 are like between Wytheville and Pulaski? My wife is trying to decide whether to come home or spend the night at the hospital where she works. She gets off at about 7:30.
Just drove 81 from Roa to NRV… roads are moderate with about 1″ and slush with some ice… drivers are crazy; some going 65-70 mph. Some going 35-45. Most vehicles are favoring the RH lane; LH lane a bit worse, but passable.
Ryan, goto the 511 virginia site at
http://www.511virginia.org/Home.aspx?r=2
scroll down til you see a bing map. it shows all the major roads. use the menu on the left and select the camera option. there is a camera in ft. chiswell, click on it on the map and see a live pic. 81 looks kind of slick.
Pulaskitown (elev 1920) …fine snow falling at a moderate rate …est 4″ across the neighborhood …2-3″ on pavement and sidewalks …1/2-3/4″ slush underneath
This is crazy, I called the folks down in Giles and they said they only had about 2-3 inches and we are pretty close to having 2 inches now up here in Greene! The river must be keeping things warm in Giles to where the snow isnt accumulating all that well, I can remember when that has happened in the past. Anyhow they have raised projections for us in Greene to about 4 inches now! Hope it verifies!
b/w 4-5″ in Carroll County – - snowing hard for the past 3 hours.
Well, folks — can we at least all agree that the 0Z NAM was smoking something last night.
Ryan, VA-511 interactive map shows I-81/11 snowcovered starting from halfway between Wytheville and Pulaski, to the Pulaski area, and down to Christiansburg, if that helps. No Interstate cameras in this area to do a visual check, however.
I have about 3 inches on the deck rail now. There’s a lull in the precip. Expecting another heavy burst in a couple hours. The roads went from zero to hero in no time flat. I can only imagine the mess on I-81.
Got the chains on my car so I can go to work in the morning. Am I the last man standing when it comes to using chains? Our hill here on woodbrook is so steep even just a slight coating of snow is impossible without 4WD, and we are pretty far down the list for plowing so it never happens the night of snow. Usually I just drive the 3/4 mile to 221 with the chains on then take them off for the rest of the drive. We only have one 4WD, and when the kids are home from school my wife insists I need to leave her with it in case she needs a sanity break.
Snow has turned fine like rain here. No point in trying to measure, there’s no good place to do that here. Snowbirds, sparrows, chickadees and cardinals have called it a night (although it was fun to watch them a little while ago … no blue jays or crows to bother them this time). Chickens gone to roost. Roads kinds covered, look slushy but definitely not deep. Since we’re one of the last to get treated, it’ll probably be icy in the morning for a good part of the road up to 311. Very, very quiet when I went out to collect eggs about 30 minutes ago. Beautiful snow.
I have a police scanner – I-81 as well as I-77 are treacherous and wrecks are many. I-77 north is closed by the tunnel.
GRAYSON COUNTY. 3700′ up on my mountain. No way in or out. But it is absolutely beautiful! Ilove it.
LOL Kevin! It definitely was on something.
2 inches of snow in the last hour here In Bedford!
Lol Kev. I knew it looked different. D### the NAM. WoHooooo for us snow lovers.
I can definitely hear that the snow is melting somewhat when I go outside with the dripping sounds in the gutters. I think the temp is still slightly above freezing. Will it drop any more?
Just came back in from taking the dog out and measuring the snow depths. I was extremely right about my guarantee the other day (big deal … it was an absolute “Lock” with the temps the way they are), I have three very different snow depths here. One inch of slush in the street, not a bit of icing yet. A full 2 inches in my driveway. And fasten your seat belts, some of you folks in other areas might be envious …. 6 full inches on my lawn. In fact, the first 3 times I put the ruler down, it was 7 inches on my lawn. But I also measured across the street and a bit further away from my house, and got 6 inches each time. Nice to see Blondie Boy bouncing around, too. I guess he ain’t ready to start pushing up daisies quite yet.
Just got in from a drive home from work by the Walmart at Clearbrook. The roads are covered, down to one lane north on 220 but not bad. Got home doing 25 or so the whole way. Side streets don’t look plowed but main road ways are fairly passable. Watch out for others. Saw a head-on accident in Roanoke City, Jefferson and Williamson. Had someone else over correct and head for me but I stopped and let them pull out of it.
Jennifer: Roanoke officially has been 33 most of the day. Not unusual in a wet snow situation. Should drop below freezing this evening.
Ch_burg has gotten about 2-3″ since 3 PM. Now 6 PM Flakes getting much smaller, but now side roads are slushy. Still falling.
I hope we can reach 6 inches in Roanoke.
Still putting it down near the town of Floyd. I measured 6 inches at 6pm and apparently there will be more. The good thing about the snow is that here it is very dry and is blowing off the pine branches, so maybe power outages will be avoided….went through that last weekend!
Thanks for the info, everyone. I had looked at the 511 website, but it was showing 81 in Pulaski Co. as minor, and I was sure it had to be worse than that. Around 7 1/2 inches here in Max Meadows, by the way, and we aren’t quite done yet!
The back end of the precipitation is still way back in Kentucky! Has this storm slowed down more then most thought it would? I wonder if this will have any effect on snow totals?
6 inches on deck rail in Cave Spring, ele 1400. Sorry Doug, I am not buying the “don’t measure the deck rail” thing. If the deck rail is measuring more than other surfaces, it must be more of a true reflection of the total snowfall. If anything, I often wonder if it is all the snowfall because it starts forming a peak about 4-5 inches. But I would be glad to set up something for good measurements, so Doug, you will have to join us in hoping for more snow so you can teach us the proper method for the next go round.
5 and a half inches now here on our mountaintop in Elliston (2022 feet). Still snowing like a banshee out there…
Just watched good ol’ Sean Sublette on Channel 13. I miss him here in Roanoke …. he used to be on Channel 10 many years ago and was my favorite on that channel. Anyway, he claimed that we have another 2-to-4 inches of snow on top of what we have already received. I gotta admit, I hope not. 5 or 6 inches on my driveway and I am faced with three unpleasant options. 1. Wait for Mother Nature to help out tomorrow noontime and afternoon (One ginormous plus, our driveway faces SW, so from 10:30 AM on, I get full sun exposure …. hey, is it supposed to be sunny tomorrow?). 2. Try to shovel it … 4 years ago that would be an automatic, but I am having ongoing (last 4 months, off and on) trouble with my left shoulder, and I am afraid that shoveling would be disastrous for that shoulder). 3. Call up a guy I know and see if he is still plowing driveways. Sean S. also predicted a low temp tomorrow morning of only 23* for Roanoke, 25* for Lynchburg, and I think 21* or 22* for Blacksburg.
just drove in from smithfield va. to c-burg 4:00 road was good shape at bonsack, salem in was a nightmare, 460 at cburg very slick, bad in very short time need to stay home.
5-1/2 inches now in South Salem.
6.75 inches on my snow board as of now. Cleared it off for next measurement this evening but I am sure there was already some compacting going on and I found a few spots that were above 7 inches but 6.75 was more representative of the snow board as a whole. Looks like we got almost five inches here since mid afternoon. Still snowing heavily and temperature has now finally dropped below freezing after holding steady most of the day at 34 degrees.
Rats!! Phil Mickelson just sank a 21-foot putt from the fringe to guarantee a playoff in the Northern Trust (Los Angeles) Open golf. Tied for lead. That means Channel 7 newscast gets delayed some more time, if not cancelled. And Keegan Bradley just sank his birdie putt, too, so there will be a 3-way playoff. I know that one Montgomery County snow lover on this blog just got very excited, right, Nick?!?!
Nasty over here in Wirtz, 4″ I would guess. I needed four-wheel drive to get out of my long driveway. Wirtz road was a mess, some mini-van was off in a ditch over the hill going down to the underpass. Had to back up the hill and turn around and then go across the wooden bridge so I could finally get up on 220 and make it to Rocky Mount. There’s a tractor-trailer broke down on 220 about half way in the right lane going up the hill past Midpoint Chevrolet as well…I’m in for good now!
Trevar,
You are not the last man standing with chains. We carry chains in all of our cars as sometimes 4WD or AWD sure needs a little help especially in the steep, icier parts of our driveway.
Halleluyah!! Channel 7 is doing a short newscast now. And Jay Webb is the lucky one, remaining in the studio, while Robin Reed is outside near I-81 in Roanoke County (Hollins exit).
I was disappointed so many people threw in the towel after that NAM run last night. I didn’t really buy the bust scenario for a second.
Eight (8) inches in Wytheville. Bye, gotta plow the driveway.
Just hit the 6 inch mark up here on Windy Gap!
Sorry – couch-crashed after getting home for a few hours. It is like a “Christmas Story” winter wonderland here in Hokieburg with snow sticking on everything. Trees heavy. Doug – it started getting bad round Chilhowie and Marion, near Mt. Rogers.
I measured 5.25 off of my patio table in the back. I’m around 2050′ where I am in Hokieburg, about 1.5 miles from base of Brush Mountain. Still a very fine snow falling.
The VT students had the annual Cadets vs. Civilians snow ball fight on the Drillfield today.
Well, Trevar, the deck railing thing is probably the closest thing that a homeowner can use that will approximate to a snowboard measurement. But I object to the snowboard method, because it measures more snow than what actually accumulates just about anywhere else outside. So if you want to know what a snowboard would “register” at your house, go ahead and use it. I would categorize it as a bit artificially high.
Kevin is about to argue with my point of view, I bet. Tough. I stand by my assertion.
No argument Doug. It’s inflated more by brushing off the snowboard every 6 hours. But there has to be a standard method, and sticking rulers on the ground has drawbacks too.
Even if I didnt agree with the NAM run last night, it still went farther north than I was expecting. Good news for dang near everybody on Kevs blog. Still snowin’ down here. I love it. Id give up on it this year. Wohooooo.
Just hit 3 inches on our back deck in south Charlottesville (just south of I-64). Came down suddenly and quite heavy a few hours back and I-64 was coated in no time between Crozet and the C’ville exits, and I-64 eastbound was closed down for a while just east of exit 120 due to a wreck around 4pm. The snow pretty much stopped for 30-45 minutes but now the heavy bands you guys experienced in the Roanoke area are just starting to roll through here. We very well might end up with 5+ inches which I certainly didn’t expect this morning.
I have more than 6 inches on my deck in south Roanoke County, whatever that translates to as a non-deck measurement.
Have 6″ of snow on the table on my back deck here in north Blacksburg (2200 ft). Still getting light to occaisonally moderate snow.
Kevin,
Did we have any snows this big last winter??? I can’t remember?
Christmas ’09 was biggest snow of last winter. 3 at Roanoke, 4 at Blacksburg, no more than 5 anywhere. Stayed south of I64 mostly.
Christmas ’10 I meant to say.
5 inches of snow in Bedford. Snow still falling.
Just got back from taking my mom some chili (had to have some excuse to go play in the snow,right?) roads very slick here in Galax. Measured 5.5″ behind my house in Woodlawn and still have moderate snow. Put the new rescue chihuahua out in the snow and it covered her to her back! Her first deep snow. Hum…wonder if I could come up with a new way to measure snow- chihuahua deep, lab deep, yorkie deep ,or in case of the big ‘un…great Dane deep!
Well, I have to say this is a most satisfactory snowfall for this snow lover. Was beginning to wonder if we would get ANY snow this winter. It is simply gorgeous out there. May have to take a walk a little later. And when the sun pops out in the morning it will look even better against a blue sky.
Looking at regional radar, I could see the snow going all the way up until midnight or so.
looks like the chance for thunder snow went southeast of Roa..
A little thunder divot on the radar when I left work around 22z
was over south of TRI…looks like that bubble topped out
25000ft tops then..looks like it slid through Danville and topped
out over Richmond area at about 30000ft..had to be some good precip in that cell. I had a flight this morning over Lewisburg enroute to Baltimore looking into the Roanoke valley and I specifically asked him about the tops.
Fairly smooth tops and was topping out about 20000 ft to 25000ft.
Very smooth flight above the weather..As of the time I left work DC and Baltimore were forecasting nothing..Dulles only brief light snow.
Smiles to you snow lovers.
The storm has moved the Eastern Continental Divide! Weather Channel segment in Wytheville signed off “…from in the Shenandoah Valley”!!
Power is out here in eastern Montgomery co. on Bradshaw. I wondered how long before that happened. Guessing we have at least 4″ out there. Still falling…still holding at 32°. Thank goodness we have a generator so we will stay warm and in the light…no internet though. Dang satellite.
Thundersnow! Saw two bright flashes of lightning just before 7 p.m. in Glenvar!
Well our power just went out. Good thing I can still get to this blog using my cell phones hot spot and an iPad. I’m addicted!
Kevin,
4 inches, 28 degrees, and pouring here near Fairystone State Park. Bad thing is roads are horrendous like everywhere else.
Doug,
Don’t know what your work schedule is but I know I’ll get a lucky day in the office tomorrow. You probably don’t have the luxury. Thank you and KM for all you do.
Doppler Carol,
I actually went fishing this morning at Phillpot and caught 3 huge bass knowing they’d feed before the storm. I fed the birds there and when I got home before it started to stick. They appreciated it so much.
Good forecast Kevin. As always your blog proved very beneficial in sizing up this storm. And reading the comments is always entertaining. Enjoy the snow everyone!
Okay, it can stop anytime now.
±6″ here a mile east of KHLX. Leaning towards the over. Temp 28.4º.
APCO reports over a million customers in VA/WV without power! Over 50% of Wise and Monroe Counties. https://www.appalachianpower.com/outages/Default.aspx
Sinking Creek in Craig Co., elevation 2450′ – 6 inches on the deck with a steady, moderate snow falling. Holding steady at 30 degrees since 3 o’clock this afternoon.
We’ve had several power fluctuations in the Cooper’s Cove area of Franklin County.
Looks like most schools in the area are closed tomorrow for snow. Of course, the only snowstorm of the year would come on President’s Day the one year that Roanoke City Schools staff had President’s Day off.
We might get a little bonus snow on the back end of this thing just like the front end. May not. Just thought it was worth mentioning.
just took some measurements around the yard and it ranged from 4 to 6 inches here near Grandin Elementary
Power went out here in Vinton for about 30 seconds several minutes ago. I bet there are a lot of outages with this heavy wet snow.
5 inches on the deck railing up here near the airport ( ROA ). Power just blinked too.
Seems to be another lull right now in Pulaskitown (elev 1920) …winding down to light snow and ice pellets (graufel) …temp down to 30 …radar pic shows another burst to swing through later
Flashes now may be power flashes rather than lightning.
Just measured 6″ in Hillsville. Wow – - most numbers are all within 2″ of each other. 5″ came between 3:30 and 7:30 – with about a 30 minute light lull.
Hello all, i’m new to this blog but have been a follower. I just wanted to say that I have measured 5 1/2 inches in my backyard and just over 2 inches on my driveway. I have measured around 5 1/2 inches on top of my car and that is after i cleaned the snow off about three hours ago when i got off of work early, which is just down brambleton where i live. At that time, my car had about 1 1/2-2 inches on top of it, so if you add that up, my car has been snowed on with about 7 inches. Snow still falling at a very steady rate at the moment. I’m loving this, go SNOW!!
I’ll admit that it is pretty, but I just got in (for the second time) from removing the heavy, wet snow from my bushes. I’m ready for the spring warm up this week.
Clarkdocvet: I measure snows the same way you do. Two years ago my Leonberger got around easily in the 18″-20″ snows. He is old now and arthritic so the 6″ -8″ snow is more his speed. He has been in seventh heaven tonight; a puppy again. Like Doug Griggs’ Blondie Boy. We have been out in the back yard every hour or so to let the big boy play in it. I haven’t measured it yet but I would say we have close to 5″ which is really surprising as I am at a low elevation in Roanoke City. P.S. have you ever lost one of your very small dogs in the snow?
Kevin, i’m pretty sure i saw a flash myself out of the corner of my eye while taking my dog outside, and i also overheard a neighbor comment on the flash.
Kevin, it may have been power flashes I saw? We still have power in our neighborhood but did not hear any thunder. I saw the first flash reflect off of my neighbor’s house then witnessed the second flash back toward Poor Mt. a few minutes later. With the heavy snow fall and low ceiling…hard to know? Whichever it was, it lit up the sky!
kevin, do you think we could see another inch or two in roanoke before it winds down?
A 6-inch diameter branch dropped while I was enjoying a walk outside in the winter wonderland. Thankfully, it only grazed my neighbor’s car and didn’t cause any serious danger.
No lightning there now Im betting…light..very light convection.
Kevin…do u think those 2 or 3 building bursts in eastern Ky will make it into the valley?
Just measured 6-3/4 here in Penn Forest, and that’s after the wife and kids swept the first 1/2 inch away off the deck. So that makes 7-1/4!!!
I think I’m around 1,260 ft.
We have about 4.5 inches on the ground in Buchanan. I measured it on the surface of the deck.
Measured snow on my deck at 7:30: 8″. Measured in backyard: 7 and7/8″. (on Bent Mountain).
And still it snows!
Have heard power outages are occurring in various places. Here’s a good idea that was passed on to me:
Fill your washing machine with water. If power goes out, you’ll have water for flushing and washing up. If the power doesn’t go out and you don’t need it, you can always use it for your next load of laundry.
Now back to the business of the evening: a jigsaw puzzle and cozy fire in the fireplace…
Now 7.5 inches in Staunton as of 8:10 PM. Wow.
Just under 6″ on my deck here in the ‘noke with steady snow. I was outside with my kids about an hour ago and we saw the sky light up. I explained that I thought it was thundersnow. After the third flash I noticed a hum accompanied each flash. A transformer blew a few blocks away down Brandon Ave. towards Salem. Minutes later we heard the sirens in the distance. Lots of low tree branches out there -Be Safe Everyone
Kevin, seems like the models did a nice job calling this one. Anything unusual on the radar? Good or Bad?
Measured 5″ on the deck on the north side of the house, 6″ on the glass topped table in the back yard, 5.5″ on the steps down to the back yard so take your choice for how much we got in Willis at 2800 ft. Several bales of hay put out earlier today for the horses and the goat, the goat ate some then laid down on the rest as a blanket under him for insulation.
7 inches here at 1500 ft in South Roanoke.
power surging here on c-burg min. most likely go dark soon, paying now for all those nice days. 6 inches and still coming down.
These power outages are one reason I’m a fan of well-below freezing, powdery dry snows over wet snows. These are pretty on the trees and such, but cause a lot of problems. Not as many as ice, though.
Snow falling this evening is actually a more powdery variety, but it’s coming on top of so much of the clumpy stuff before it.
6″ of snow in Lynchburg, and still snowing..
Looks like the counties of Floyd, Giles and Pulaski have closed schools for tomorrow. Montgomery hasn’t announced anything yet that I could see on any of the websites.
Great job of forecasting Kevin. This was a tough call all the way around and most(even the guy we don’t mention) did a pretty good job with timing and totals. Just got back from a walk. Still light to moderate snow here in North county. Made my 1st(and perhaps last) snow ice cream of the season and will now sit back and watch it snow.Beautiful
Looking at the radar it looks like the dreaded dry slot is about to hit Wytheville.
@ 205 T Peters: I saw the two flashes, as well, in RC.
thank goodness its not bitterly cold behind this..
At least it wont be quite as bad for the poor folks that lose power.
Okay, Kevin,
These latest puffy, swoopy flakes are sparkling a lot. Does that mean they are freezier or wettier? (to use the meteorological terms of course)
Todd heard the same thing! Out power flashed a few times, but we are still up and running.
Thundersnow reported in Varina in Henrico County VA with that heavy yellow/red band moving through.
8.7 inches on my car on Jeters Chapel mtn! I wish we could post pics so I could prove it! I can’t believe how much its accumulating up here!
Up here on the ridge near the Doppler, it is still snowing and 27 F. I was out measuring and had anywhere from 5-6 inches.
While I was out measuring, I checked and topped off the the bird feeders. Under one of the feeders where I had cleared some of the snow at lunchtime, there will little tunnels under the snow where the moles had burrowed through the snow looking for dropped bird seed.
No school in Floyd County tomorrow.
All quiet up here on the ridge. Everyone is hunkered in for the evening. Backing away from the laptop for the evening.
PING!
THUNDERSNOW 8:17 PM at Rancho DeQuagmire 4″ snow 31 degrees.
Even with “un-official” 8″ reports, I still busted this one, big time.
Saw the bursts at the field of Woodrow Wilson Middle. Power flickered once, but still on
Kevin, Any chance Roanoke will see another inch? or is it over?
Blurker: That means they are ‘freezier’. Shiny frozen little jewels, much more refined than the mushed together clumpy flakes.
Six and a half inches of snow as of 8pm here in Eastern Roanoke County.
There might be another inch maybe 2 in this. There is a
little trailing disturbance in Ky that might keep it going til midnight or so, maybe a brief moderate burst . Most is winding down though.
8 ” At stewartsville as of 8:30 most of it fell after 4 pm
Thunder Snow! I was cleaning one of the cars about 8:15 and saw two flashes of lightning about a minute or two apart. No actual thunder though so I was disappointed in that. FYI, I Live in East Rke County near Wm. Byrd H.S. and we have 6.25 inches of snow on the cars and 5.25 inches in the yard. Finally got a good snowfall! It is beautiful. Happy day.
Looking at the radar it seems that the snow is now starting to collapse. Kevin, is the drier air beginning to come in?
Just got in from taking a walk and cleaning off the car. It was an interesting 20 minutes. I saw the power go off on our street THEN I saw a flash on the street below us and then a couple seconds later – POW!! Luckily our power came back on in a few seconds.
Then a couple minutes later I hear what sounds like faint thunder and I’m thinking this is cool. A thundersnow! Then I start to look up to scan the sky for lightning and realize the “thunder” was snow dropping thru the branches on the tree at exactly the same time that snow reached it’s target – ME!! LOL!!! It was GREAT!!! Then I experienced what can only be described as a snow sandstorm. It looked like a slow rolling fog coming thru our yard. What an adventure! I would have stayed longer but by that point I was a popsicle and needed to get back inside. LOL.
Hooray for the winter storm of 2012.
I’m thinking these twin flashes several have reported were probably power flashes, maybe a transformer blowing. 3000+ without power in Roanoke area.
The back side of the deformation zone often seems to just kinda dissolve into thin air rather than move off.
Kevin,
As a point of reference I have about a half inch to one inch of snow in Culpeper. It has covered everything and continues to fall. Thanks for all your information and thanks to everyone who post on here. It’s nice to see what all is going on in various locations.
Well, it’s been snowing since about 2pm here, and still going. Radar looks like it’s about to peter out and die in the next hour or two, unless that disturbance near Kentucky hits up here too.
I’d say we got about 4-5″ here in Fluvanna. Very fluffy flakes, i was able to shovel the walkway with my broom. Still a bit too much for me to drive up the windy road past Monticello and into town.
Took the big dog out for another romp in the backyard and took a ruler with me this time. It measured only 3 3/4″ on the slate patio (lots of melting there before sticking), a little over 6″ in the yard and 6 3/4″ on one of the tables. These are really rough measurements as I do not have the know how or patience to do it correctly.
LOL. It looks like someone is tearing a piece of paper in half between Roanoke and the WVA border where the dry line is forming.
Well, this has been a most enjoyable day watching the snow and has satisfied my needs for this winter. Can’t wait to see what this will look like in the morning when the sun is out.
As usual, great job Kevin. This is such a great blog to come to where we are all friends regardless of our weather preferences. I enjoy reading everyone’s comments.
Over 7 inches of snow in Bedford.
Measured again around 9 PM on my patio table in the yard and it was 6.75 inches! (SW Blacksburg)
8 in. Now and still snowing lightly Temp is 30 now. Plowed driveway but covered back up quickly. The snow up here is beautiful .
Definitely not a power flash here in Goodview (ok not definitely but let’s go with 95%)…about an hour and a half ago my wife and I both saw lightning while outside with the dog. I screamed “finally I’ve seen it for myself!”. Anywho, light snow and 31.7 with just under 7 inches of heavy wet snow.
Finally getting to check in! Been a crazy kind of day here. Took the kids out, they built a snowman and went sleigh riding. The lazy dog that lives here decided he liked playing in the snow too and chased snowballs everywhere LOL. Last time I checked depth, I was at 4 inches, that was around 5pm.
DC streets are totally dry and passable. Not one flake. 40 and cloudy.
Power still out here. snow still falling. it is really piled up on deck and railings. looks like the forsythia bush out front is in the ground completely. hope out propane tank holds out if the power doesn’t come back on soon. we have thermostat turned down so the furnace doesn’t run much but are still comfortable. hope nobody has to go out too early!
So far 4 inches and counting here in Greene county! I am over in the western part of the county near Dyke, in case anyone up my way is wondering. I did hear some reports of 5 or so inches down the road in Crozet. Still coming down, so guess I wont know the final talley until morning.
We have about 3 1/4″ on top of our official snow trash can lid. The snow has lightened up considerably but its still coming down. Up until about 6 PM, the local NWS was calling for maybe up to 2″ for today and tonight’s accumulation so what we did receive was a good surprise.
Power is fluctuating here also.
7″ just east of Blacksburg . More fell( by measuring it at intervals) but compacting/melting must have occured
Had an elderly neighbor fall, not sure if it was due to the snow, ambulance there now. Also I just heard a HUGE BOOM in my back yard!! It was a massive old pine tree that had excessive amounts of wet snow on it and it snapped in half and fell, nearly missing my house!!
8 1/2″ in Wangle Junction at 9:00 pm (elev 2460) Looks like most of the snow has past us here other than some possible late straggling snow bands. My Hovering Sombrero measuring device below (aka table on the deck):
http://www.lostbent.com/Winter2011-12/HoveringSombrero.jpg
8.5 inches on my deck in Lynchburg.
Been snowing steady/heavy at times here since 4pm and still going. Measured between 8 & 9 inches at different points in the yard.
Hey, Ricky, thanks for your report, but where in Virginia is Jeters Chapel Mountain?? I have an ADC state atlas (which I highly recommend, by the way), but I did not find Jeters Chapel as a city or town or locality (only a “Jetersville” way, way east of ROA in Amelia County) and no Jeters Chapel Mountain. Just lis your county, please. I bet that you are within 30 miles of Wytheville or Marion, as a WAG. I am about to take the old boy out again, so i will measure stuff again, also. Looking at the radar, it looks like this storm is simply falling apart, so to speak, rather than moving out to the NE or ENE. Radar returns are simply shriveling. Thank heavens. Enough is enough. Go ahead, Nurse Snow …. invoke Freddie Mercury, complete with a youtube link if you can do that. A big 4th period rally by the snow lovers to make the score respectable.
7+ here in LYH-
Great event. That band between 5-6 was incredible, very memorable to get 2.2 inches in an hour. I’m hoping we touch 8. If I did every 6 hours– may have another half inch to add in as we did compact a little during the late day lull.
Griggs goes back to pass for the Snow Haters, a stupid thing to do with his 20-0 lead. Looks for Sam Oakey over the middle, but he’s covered. Looks for Mark in Pulaski, but no dice. WAIT!!! He gets sacked big time by 4 Snow Lover defensive linemen at the same time!! Fumble!! Picked up by Nurse Snow and she runs it all the way in for a TD, with an escort of hundreds of Snow Lover blockers!! The crowd goes wild here at Snow Lover Blog Stadium!! And the two-point conversion is good, also!!
A family friend of ours has been stuck on 81 north in Wythe County for over 3 hours.
I saw a flash here in Cave Spring that sure looked like lightning, our power is underground, and no power outages, and I am at the top of a hill. I shoveled 5 inches off of our sidewalk, and there is 8 1/4 on the deck rail.
Here on Bent Mtn, there are about nine inches on the ground. It continues to snow.
Just measured 7.5″ on our deck here in West Roanoke County. Still coming down lightly. @1010pm
I’m gonna call it about 8.25 on my deck at the base of Bent Mt.
And it’s still coming down like nobody’s business.
8.5 inches and it’s time to go to bed. Night all.
Between 7and 8 inches in Bedford. It’s starting to taper off now. This was a great surprise storm. Lots of snow on the trees. It’s gorgeous!
8.25 inches was the storm total here on my snowboard as of 8:30pm and it has really tapered off but still getting light to moderate snow (never stopped after midafternoon). With these totals, the snowfall total has crossed the boundary where I no longer really enjoy it due to the host of challenges in dealing with all the snow, especially if it hangs around for a bit. Good thing I got some hay moved beforehand. I also took Doug’s sage advice from the winter of 09-10 and dragged myself outside and shoveled during the snowfall and I also plowed the driveway. (Doug, sorry I missed your question earlier today) It is wet and heavy. Exercise may have done some good cuz I am feeling a bit better.
Funny DG. Been waiting for you and the others to send up the white flag. Glad you have tomorrow off.
Interesting that the radar has filled back in from the west and we could be in for at least another hour or so of snow.
Measured about 7.5 inches here as well in southwest Roanoke county, and coming down as hard currently as it has in a couple hours.
Measured 7 inches on the lawn in Riner. Still steady light to moderate snow here. I bet we would have over a foot if this had fallen on frozen ground.
Well, I have returned from taking the senior puppy out and measuring, and doing one more thing. I have one bit of advice, for those of you still awake. I could not measure the snow in the road, because we got plowed!!! Recently, too. Nothing but slush out there …. now. So I shoveled off the big snow piles from the end of my driveway, so they would not freeze by dawn, just in case the temps do drop down into the upper 20s here. I would recommend everyone go do that now, especially if your street was plowed. When one of those big snow boulders (from a plow going by) freezes, it makes it dangerous to drive through. Even if no plow has come by, getting the apron of your driveway down to no snow might give your car/SUV/Truck/whatever a second of traction to make a turn easier. On the other hand, I suppose that almost bare pavement could freeze, too, and be like glass in the early A.M.
Measurements: definitely 3 inches exactly on the driveway. I got several different depths measuring around the house, including one of ten inches on one spot on my back steps. But that must be too high. Overall average seemed to be about 7.5 inches, with no measurement below 7.0 Several 8s.
@Doug: I think Jeters Chapel Mountain is in Bedford County north of Stewartsville.
I agree that, most likely, people are seeing power flashes rather than lightning. I’ve experienced thundersnow at night, and when it’s close, there’s no mistaking whether it’s real or Memorex. Not sure if this would apply to power flashes, but a lightning flash will look blue or purple at night in snow. Not sure why but it definitely has a different hue to it.
I spoke with Bob and Lisa Macintosh of Lee, Mass. early this evening. Want to hear something wild? I have now received more snow than they have received since Halloween!! They are stuck at about 4 inches from Halloween through today. And two winters ago Roanoke received more snow than Boston. So that makes two of the last 3 winters that I received more snow than a New England location, and I think it is the only two times since we moved here late in 1997
Well, the storm shriveled up in eastern KY, NE Tenn. and even counties (Lee County, for one) in far, far SW corner of Virginia, but it continues here. Bands moving in from the NW. Enough! Stop! We snow haters already put up the white flag hours ago!! LOL I just realized that except for the 3 big snowfalls of the 2009-10 winter, today’s event is the largest snowfall since I moved to Roanoke. Here at my house, that is.
Power just came back on ..at one point over 50,000 people out in SWVA. I was sleigh riding with some friends and our kids and I saw a large green flash in the sky. My friend said that looked like a transformer explosion toward your house (2 miles away). He said, call you phone and see if your answering machine works, it didnt. I thought aliens had landed or someone had fireworks. It lit up half the sky.
Im guessing 6 or so in Giles..dont think we got as cold as everyone else. barely hovered around 32-33 degrees.
Thanks, Dwayne. I just posted one more “surrender” comment, at 10:51. CONGRATULATIONS, SNOW LOVERS!!!
At my “official” measuring spot I have 5 in. here at outpost 1000 ft. However some parts of my yard that are in the shade have right at 6 in. Last night around this time I was thinking a bust, but I will take 5 in of snow. Still snowing, but very very light.
About 10:30 PM, after I had come back in from shoveling and measuring, I heard a loud BOOM toward the east, and this one sounded much more like a transformer popping than the brief pop (or “PING!”) that I heard in late afternoon that I think was a snow thunderclap. We are fortunate …. still have power. In some thunderstorms, we are often one of the unlucky neighborhoods that gets a power outage.
6 inches on the table out back that hadn’t been touched. I wonder what the total would have been if there hadn’t been any melting.
So much for gut feelings. It’s hard to like snow after running a plow for fifteen years but I must admit it’s beautiful.
Thanks, Kevin Ray, I see Jeters Chapel Road in western Bedford County in Stewartsville area on my atlas. Makes one big, weird-looking loop, with lots of sharp turns at the northern (top end?) end of the road.
Thanks for a correct number of outages, Pistol Pete. I must have been snow-blind when I misread the columns! I saw forecasts of strong wind gusts for today that didn’t materialize. That would have made for worse power problems, but I saw hardly any wind at all.
Around 9″ here at 2,100′ in Woodbine.