Historic Superstorm Sandy will only slowly loosen its grip
Daylight will begin to reveal the terrible toll of Superstorm Sandy in greater detail, a deadly and destructive tropics-meets-tundra weather system without precedent that has paralyzed much of New York City and left millions without power. This morning’s satellite photo shows Sandy as a massive swirl of clouds fitting almost perfectly from the Mississippi River to the East Coast, and from Atlanta well into Canada. Southwest Virginia is very small piece of a huge mosaic of Sandy’s effects, but power outages in the thousands have resulted from winds that were sustained as high as 40 mph and gusted as high as 60 mph at Roanoke Regional Airport late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. Several locations mostly above 2,000 feet and west and southwest of Roanoke saw a rare October measurable snowfall, though amounts are mostly light, owing to strong winds, warm ground, and most of the heavy snow having tracked into West Virginia and far southwest Virginia as projected. Here is a link providing some information on Sandy’s current status and also rainfall, snowfall and wind gusts in other locations. Today, for Southwest Virginia, you should expect whatever you got from Sandy last night, just gradually a little less of it as the circulation center tracks westward through Pennsylvania. Winds may still gust over 50 mph at times, so the high wind warning remains in effect. There will be some snow or rain showers in the air — a few flurries have even blown into some pars of the Roanoke Valley this morning — but little additional significant precipitation is expected. Sandy, born of a deeply south dipping Arctic air mass intercepting a hurricane originating in the Caribbean, will slowly weaken and drift north through the remainder of the week, its hold on our weather and its inclement effects on several states only slowly losing its grip. You can expect the total toll of destruction to climb into many billions of dollars, as Sandy will easily be one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S history due to the breadth of its effects and the densely populated and developed areas it has hammered in various ways. Southwest Virginia, you have experienced, and continue to experience, a noisy and troublesome through far from devastating part of a historic storm.
October 30, 2012 - 8:22 AM
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Yeah.. We are slightly higher than most of blacksburg. I have about an inch in the mulch, and 1.5 in the grass. If I can get a picture I will. For some reason, we tend to get a little more than everyone else. Last year, The general consensus for accumulation for that one big storm we had last year was 8″, but I recorded between 10 and 11 inches.
I was reading some criticism aimed at the National Hurricane Center for choosing not to issue hurricane or tropical storm warnings into the MD, DE, NJ, NY, CT, etc areas…and I think they’re warranted. Ok, sure, the storm may have not been a true tropical cyclone by the time of landfall, but it was a hurricane and was in the midst of morphing into something else. I think simply for clarity’s sake, they should have issued the warnings, because I know from personal experience, a hurricane warning gives me a heck of a lot bigger alarm than a high wind warning and coastal flood advisories do…even if they’re for the same general impacts. Thankfully, for the most part, local/state/federal officials were on top of things and seem to have done a pretty good job of anticipating the storm and handling it, though we obviously won;t know the full impact for probably several days. Seeing some of the images of the flooding last night were simply mind-boggling.
In Troutville we are getting what looks like a mix of rain and snow (no accumulation) and still some pretty strong winds.
Other John: What you have mentioned is already a hot topic in meteorological circles and will continue to be controversial for a long time. Sandy became a “post-tropical cyclone” only very slightly before making landfall (even this is somewhat controversial), and the general public doesn’t care a lick about such meteorological semantics. I too think a hurricane warning should have been issued for the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast coasts heavily impacted by Sandy.
Whether or not the NHC issues a warning for a named hurricane matters a great deal with homeowner’s insurance policies. In many policies, a named storm from the NHC incurs a much higher deductible, as much as 10% of the value. But if the NHC doesn’t issue the warning, a standard deductible typically applies. It may be controversial in meteorological circles, but its financial ramifications to homeowners in the storm’s path are quite significant.
Ichthus: Does the financial benefit of not issuing a hurricane warning outweigh the greater public awareness that a hurricane warning creates above and beyond mere high wind warnings? And secondly, should the weather service base its decisions on the financial concerns of homeowners rather than solely about public safety and meteorology?
If a hurricane warning would have saved just 1 more human life, it’s worth how many ever billions of dollars coastal homeowners would pay. But of course that’s not easily quantified.
Two of the three snow removal plows stuck in Burke’s Garden- main road is blown and drifted shut. Local farmers are using their 4WD tractors to try and clear the roads and help the snow removal road crew.
I see where ROA is reporting light snow falling at 7:54 AM. Anyone know when was the last time ROA reported snow in late October? I’m sure it has happened at some point in the last 100 or so years but I don’t recall snow this early down in the valley.
For those traveling 64 today, I took a look at the Afton webcams. There is some snow accumulation on the grass but the road is just wet and traffic looks to be moving normally.
John: I’ve been getting off and on snow showers just south of Roanoke.
Roanoke technically had a trace of “snow” in October last year … sleet on the front end of the storm that ended up as the big late October snowstorm in the Northeast. Counts as snow in official records.
I know there was a trace of actual snow in late October in Roanoke sometime around 2001 or 2002. Having trouble accessing the NWS site to get the exact date on that. Was just flurries behind an Arctic front.
Last measurable snow in Roanoke in October was 0.3 inch on Oct. 10, 1979. Yes, that early.
Kelly – how deep is it in Burke’s Garden now? And is it still snowing hard? It appears to be based on the radar.
Truthfully, I agree and would’ve gone with the NHC warning as well. But I can see how coastal property owners, and insurance companies, as large stakeholders, are very much interested in how these situations are handled. Social questions of public safety vs. public cost are about as controversial (and the direct result of) meteorological questions of when it’s no longer a tropical system.
It is snowing and the wind is really gusting. My husband who works for VDOT is using his own tractor to try to dig out one of the plows and open the main road so he can get to work. I would say we have snow of a 8-12 inches. The wind is the worst though. We can handle the snow, but the wind closes the road back up as soon as it is plowed.
33, windy, and snowing lightly here this morning. The wind hasn’t seemed any worse than a typical winter storm around here. Snow stuck to the top of the car and roofs and here and there on the ground during the night, but it looks like most of it just blew on past. Someone east of here probably has a drift 3 feet high up against their west-facing barn door!
It was snowing rather hard in Goodview as I left for work at 9:15…it has apparently snowed hard enough/long enough to put .01 inches in the ol’ rain bucket. We only received .16 from the storm and that was all before Noon Monday.
@ both KM & Ichthus: Points well taken. Sounds more like Insurance Co’s should be taken to task for having a ‘meterological semantic’ loophole. Those building beach homes that are being demolished on regular basis should be denied or pay excessive rates. Those damaged on 100-year basis should also pay accordingly. No storm naming involved. Free markets work if we force these companies to fairly compete for our dollars.
I could see an insurance company pulling in a meteorologist as an expert witness to argue the National Hurricane Center was wrong and it was still a tropical system upon landfall.
And of course since it was recognized as Hurricane Sandy till right before landfall, a lot of the coastal damage that occurred was caused by the waves produced by a named tropical system.
Just had a large squall come through… lasted for about 45 minutes. 2-2.5 inches on the ground in the burg now.
Pet peeve: Reporter vocabulary. Here is one of this morning’s headlines: “NYC swamped by 13-foot wall of water.” Really? I think of a wall as something vertical. This thirteen feet of water flowed in gradually until it reached such a depth.
“Impact” is certainly justified usage for a storm this big, but we now regularly use it to replace “affect.” Not only is it more dramatic, it avoids deciding to write “affect” or “effect”–the way we use “myself” when we are not sure whether to say “I” or “me.” I’m weary of hearing about weather’s impact–now standard on NWS forecasts.
If I may gripe about one more overused weather word, it is “scenario.”
There! I feel much better.
Lexingtonian: It has been grilled into me since journalism school never to use “impact” as a verb. I may have broken the rule a time or 2, but whenever I notice it in my writing on anything I’m editing, I change it to “affect.”
I have a skiff of snow on western slopes in SW Floyd County.
Kelly: Do you live in Burkes Garden? If so, you’re going to be very popular on this board. Folks here always want to know the temperature there on a cold morning since it’s quite often the coldest around here.
Yes I do. I lived here for 23 years when I married my husband who is a fifth generation Hoge of Burke’s Garden.
Another neighbor just called and he is stuck in snow drift up to his chest (this neighbor is about 6’5″) and husband is on the way to dig him out.
Um … looking ahead… both the Euro and GFS have a nor’easter type storm off the Hatteras coast on Election Day.
http://raleighwx.americanwx.com/models/euro/00zeuro850mbTSLPUS168.gif
Kelly-Love the report from Burke’s Garden. Thank you so much for contributing. Is it a dry/powdery snow up there? We have been hearing so much about how it would be wet/heavy, but from your description it sounds like more of a mid-winter type snow. Please update us when the event is over with your snow totals.
Live video coverage of hurricane Sandy http://goo.gl/i27oD
The wording varies somewhat depending on state and insurance carrier, but generally speaking its not what the storm was or was not at landfall that matters. What matters is if there was a hurricane/tropical storm watch/warning in effect at the time of landfall. And in most instances, a watch/warning for even a single county in a state means that the hurricane deductible applies for every location in that state. If a tropical storm watch is in effect for, say, a county in the far western panhandle of Florida and a thunderstorm, unrelated to the tropical storm, causes wind damage at the opposite end of the state in Miami, the hurricane deductible would apply to those submitting claims for damage from the thunderstorm.
No it is wet snow not dry and skittery at all, but the wind off of Beartown Mountain is mean.
The power grid in West Virginia has been hit hard … and neighboring counties of far southwest Va.
https://www.appalachianpower.com/outages/
Wind + wet snow is worst-case scenario for high impacts. You get drifting and snow weight issues like power outages and possible building collapses.
KM: I’ve followed the blog several years now and I know you reference several forecasting models. Given its accuracy in forecasting Sandy is the Euro now the standard for forecasting tools? I’ve not kept up enough over the years to know if the Euro got lucky this time or if this is a trend of success for that tool. Thanks.
Well I questioned the 1-3 inches of forecasted snow in Blacksburg yesterday but sure enough I had 1 inch on the ground this morning within Blacksburg. It’s really quite surprising.
The Euro is already pretty widely recognized as the best of the long-range models. It absolutely nailed this storm, very closely predicting its evolution and landfall 8 days ahead of time with very little deviation run to run over that entire span. That said, it’s not perfect. In winter 2010-11, it was taking just about every disturbance up the East Coast as a nor’easter, and those almost never happened that winter. And I’ve seen it suddenly lose a projected system 3 days before it was supposed to happen.
Just pay attention when the Euro latches on to an extreme event and shows it run after run with little deviation, even if the other models waffle.
Kevin: Please elaborate on the possibility of an election day storm. Would it hit here or just the northeast. Many of the North Easterners would not yet have their power back from this storm!
Not really enough data to comment too much. As modeled, it doesn’t look like it would be an extremely powerful nor’easter, but any amount of wave action will only enhance beach erosion issues. Could easily form farther offshore and not be a big deal, or not happen at all.
Cold air would again be present for possible snow near us, but timing/evolution of system doesn’t look right on the models now. Lots of time for everything to change, including the very existence of such a system.
Will the Sandy name be automatically retired? It was Sandy when it hit Cuba, but the NHC had dumped the name by the time it trashed the mid-Atlantic and NE.
Kevin…
Had to smile at your comment on impact/affect.
Years ago I got into a small verbal tussle with a weather
guy in the back office about lake “enhanced” ,lets say, snow.
was in written form. He insisted on using affect.
He said there was no difference.
You might have said he was a little stubborn.
He was a gold chain type with a David Niven mustache…
but I do digress.
Leo Lady…
I would keep an eye around Election Day as the Euro has been latching on to this little coastal storm for several runs now. Good news is that this potential event will be much weaker than Sandy & may not even pose a threat at all. It’s still a week out and it will change.
Folks, I would like to ask for some help. I am looking to make a Sandy Photo Album on my website. If anyone has any pictures, videos or stories that you would like to share about Sandy & the snow, please forward them to quagmireweathercentral@gmail.com or tweet me @quagmirewx. I am creating a “History of Sandy” page & would love your input.
thanx
If there is a storm next week think it forms off the VA coast and heads North as trough comes through. No Southern Jet.
Blacksburg had about an inch of accumulation, but its hard to say with the wind.
The summit of Brush Mountain had 2-3 inches and roads completely covered in snow.
I might go check out Mountain Lake later today, anyone been up that way yet?
Power went out around 2am here and is still out. Other than that Sandy was fairly uneventful for us. The wind was pretty stiff but no snow to speak of and hardly any rain. I don’t see any trees down back in the woods but won’t walk up and check until the winds are gone.
I wish others faired as well.
And just after I made that post our power came back one. Hallelujah! We don’t have to use all our generator propane!
The NWS-Blacksburg’s website is down right now (and the whole Eastern Region, for that matter), but I do know the high wind warning has been lifted.
Just saw video on TWC of Davis, WV with 30″ of snow on the ground, and still falling! Incredible.
I have posted photos in my facebook book that is open to the public should anyone want to view them. The album is titled October 30, 2012 Snow Burke’s Garden, VA. These photos are taken of the main road-Route 625 Burke’s Garden Road.
The Chapel had 3-4 inches of snow this am but roads were primarily wet. Schools were closed due to road conditions earlier. Some scattered power outages in the county but our is on. Conditions are much worse in Tazewell Co and on into WV. Most snow I can remember for October here in the Chapel.
Great shot of how big Sandy really is http://i.imgur.com/3hFH4.jpg
Our mail manager in my office just sent us an email with a rundown of the state of shipping and mailing right now on the East Coast. Many post offices are closed and FedEx has delays for all the East Coast service areas. For those of us who spend time at OBX, Highway 12 is closed at the Oregon Inlet Bridge. Only emergency ferries running at this point. Corolla, Frisco, Hatteras and Kitty Hawk P.O.s have been affected by flooding and basically none of Hatteras Island or Ocracoke was getting delivery. Here’s more on OBX area. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/10/30/3632652/state-gauges-bridge-road-and-ferry.html
While we have had strong winds, it is nothing to what these other places are experiencing.
I’m home!! Another fun day delivering mail. What follows is a big list of poewer outages by County, so skip the rest of this comment if you are not interested.
I just checked on the AEP (or “APCO” as one other blogger posted) power outage situation. ROA city: 161 customers. ROA County: 1039. Franklin CO.: 370. Montgom. CO.: 279. Floyd: 125. Pulaski: 107. Carroll: 219. Smyth: 176. Wythe CO. is either pitching a shutout, or the figure is unavail. Washington County (Hello, Michael and Eva!): 263.
Now for the big numbers. Bland CO.: 754. Russell CO., which is almost due north of Washington CO. and west of Tazewell: 1291. Tazewell CO. ( I wonder how many of theirs are in Burke’s Garden?): a WHOPPING 4499!! I don’t know how many people or APCO customers there are in Tazewell County, but I bet that is more than half of them. Mercer County, WV, which has Princeton and I think Bluefield, WV: 2650. McDowell Co. WV, which is west of Mercer and north of Tazewell: 5376!! Again, that is more than half, I bet (maybe 100%?). Three more. Summers CO. WV, NE of Mercer: Only 736. Greenbrier CO. WV, due west of Alleghany CO VIRG. and which includes Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs: 985. And probably the most impressive total of all, at least of the ones I listed, Wyoming CO. WV, in the boonies, west of Beckley and north of McDowell: 9707!! That has got to be a huge %age of the total customers. Raleigh CO. which contains Beckley has a big 11,000+, but its population is higher than most of those other WV counties, I bet.
For some reason the APCO map did not include any other Virginia counties in our general area, such as Craig, Alleghany, Bedford, Henry, Patrick, Floyd, Campbell, City of Lynchburg, Bath, Botetourt. Are they covered by other power companies?
Has NWS put out snowfall totals for Sandy?
Other John, I am going through the comments on the previous thread, and saw yours from this morning. That is great news about your ‘rents. And I am pleasantly stunned ….. a developer who did things right!! Will wonders never cease …..
There is a link about midway through the post above that has a running report on rain, wind and snow with Sandy. But it doesn’t look like snow is updated as biggest I see is 14 inches and I know there are some bigger reports (30 inches, Davis WVa).
As for utilities, some localities are covered by co-ops (much of Craig and Botetourt counties) and some by municipal utilities (like Salem) so they don’t appear on ApCo’s outage map.
Angela, glad to hear the great news about your home (and also everybody else west and NW of here who was in a bigger risk) retaining power. And thanks for mentioning Snowshoe. I hope that someone on this thread has told of that ski resort’s total so far.
And Ken, you have already come through with a great piece of info, telling of your 3-4 inches of the white stuff …. dreaded white stuff in my practically solitary opinion. Now I hope that either of our two Washington County bloggers reported in …
Motormouth (Or maybe “Motorfingers” is more appropriate) has a theory. Could it be that the widespread tree damage from the derecho actually caused there to be FEWER power outages now than if this storm had happened last October?? I think so. Because a huge (as in “humongous”) number of trees and branches that were overhanging power lines, transformers, and houses were knocked down on June 29th. I wonder if an AEP/APCO official will comment about that ….
Check out this video from Snowshoe…
http://youtu.be/nJPb1x47D3Y
@52: They just posted Advisory #34, which has the updated totals. Click “Final” on the linked page to see the latest.
KELLY HOGE, GREAT COMMENT at 9:13 this morn!! Ever since I visited Burke’s Garden on a wonderfully foggy (foggy on the “Garden’s” floor, but crystal clear above it) September 13th, I am fascinated by the place. Tell us, how did you hear about the snow plow situation in BG? Do you live there? Or somewhere else in Tazewell County? Or in western Bland County?
No power outages in the Burke’s Garden- fingers crossed that it stays that way. Think Thompson Valley and Abbs Valley has been out of power.
OK, KH, now I have read your 10 AM comment. Wow, you seem to live there. Hey, contact the National Guard or closest Army unit and see if they can bring a flamethrower ….. Just kidding.
I really have trouble reading these maps but just found out we are under a winter weather advisory here. What is the difference? I’m sorry to be ill-informed!
Doug, I have been following the power outage map and Floyd is covered by APCO so I am guessing that they have fixed all of the outages here if the county is showing blank. That is good.
Still breezy up here on Doppler Ridge. There have been times today that I have noticed that there is no wind but then a few minutes later it is back. Snow is slowly disappearing. The high today got up to 36.
Kelly H or Kevin, is there any way for Kelly or you to get just one or two of those photographs from BG onto this blog?? We are technologically “challenged” and do not have Facebook. I remember the twisty, winding, up and down road (Route 623/ Burke’s Garden Road) from Gratton (a wide place in the road in eastern Tazewell County) into the heart of BG. I was dealing with another weather hazard when I visited …. fog …. but it was OK on that section of road because of its elevation. There is a full hairpin turn on the eastern end of the downhill run into BG. Extremely sharp and also some steepness. Even tho’ I am from MASS. and have lived through many humongous snowstorms, I don’t ever remember being on a mountain road like that one when it is snow covered.
Hey, Doppler Carol, I am very happy that your home seems to have weathered the storm in relatively good shape. I ws worried about you. You (and especially wd) were on my mind when I posted a link last night (on the previous thread) to a few scenes from a WC Fields movie that had him in the Yukon during a big snowstorm. Check it out …. and comment if you liked it!!
Mr. Griggs, My husband, a VDOT worker, got stuck at the Methodist church. One of the overnight contractors plow was stuck so my husband came home, got his tractor and went to get him out. He then cleaned the main road so he could go to work. By then one of the neighbors had called and he was stuck so my husband went to dig him out and drove him to the other side of the Garden so he could feed his cattle. Then my husband came home and went to work and as of right now is still in Bland County working on broke down VDOT vehicles.
Hey, Kelly, if you don’t mind checking back in, where exactly on that Burke’s Garden Road was the snow being blown back onto it? Above the hairpin turn, or below it? I am guessing above it, at the ridge line.
Nice photos,Kelly..looks like mid-winter to me! Thanks for the video link,Quags…used to ski a lot at Snowshoe before multiple orthopedic injuries and surgeries slowed me down and I made the switch to scuba diving…lot easier on the joints!! I did ski Snowshoe during the Blizzard of ’93…3+ feet of snow and 70mph winds then,in mid March…
Yes Mr. Griggs I seem to live in Burke’s Garden. That what happens when you marry a Burke’s Garden boy, they don’t move too far away from home. If Mr. Myatt wants to, he can share my email address with you and you email me and I will send you the pics via email. Or I can email them to Mr. Myatt and he can share them.
Meanwhile, and this IS weather related, one entire neighborhood in the Far Rockaway section of Queens in New York City (which is actually on a barrier island south of JFK airport) burned to the ground. Fire was spread quickly by the huge winds. 80 to 100 homes destroyed completely, I think.
Whoa… looks like were getting some snow out of WV.. maybe why the WWA is still in effect?
Basically and upslope-like pattern now with NW winds blowing over the mountains. That could bring some snow showers and flurries over from WVa overnight. Probably no more than a dusting in the NRV, but a few more inches over in parts of WVa and far SW Va.
The Old Farmers Almanac forecast for the area from Richmond up to Boston. Just another typical complete miss. What, no mention of the storm of this century for NYC?
Oct 28-31: Sunny, cold.
Unfortunately, there has been 1 fatality within NWS-Blacksburg’s forecast area, in Surry County in northwest NC. A driver didn’t have time to stop before crashing into an oak tree that fell in front of him.
Here is a list of HPC snowfall totals for various states (I erased the obviously out of date 3 inches for Burkes Garden) Please note the directions on some of the sites (22 inches didn’t fall in Gatlinburg Tenn, it fell 7 miles southeast of Gatlinburg, which would be much higher elevation)
SNOWFALL TOTALS
—————
SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IN INCHES THROUGH 5 PM EDT
..KENTUCKY…
PAYNE GAP 14.0
LYNCH 3S 12.0
ELKO 1NW 9.0
BENHAM 3S 6.0
…MARYLAND…
REDHOUSE 29.0
FINZEL 24.0
OAKLAND 24.0
DEEP CREEK LAKE 20.0
…NORTH CAROLINA…
COVE CREEK 10NW 24.0
FAUST 24.0
NEWFOUND GAP 22.0
ELK PARK 14.0
BULADEAN 12.0
BAKERSVILLE 5N 11.0
BEECH MOUNTAIN 1 SE 10.0
ASHLAND 9.0
FLAT SPRINGS 1E 7.0
LANSING 6NW 5.0
CRUSO 3 ESE 5.0
CRESTON 4.0
…OHIO…
BELLEFONTAINE 2N 3.0
…PENNSYLVANIA…
CHAMPION 4SE 13.0
LAUREL SUMMIT 10.0
MOUNT DAVIS 9.0
…TENNESSEE…
GATLINBURG 7SE 22.0
…VIRGINIA…
NORTON 2S 24.0
TAZEWELL 2N 15.0
WISE 6E 14.0
LEBANON 12.0
HONAKER 8.0
CLINTWOOD 2WSW 4.0
…WEST VIRGINIA…
DAVIS 28.0
NETTIE 24.0
TERRA ALTA 24.0
BEVERLY 21.0
BAYARD 19.0
BEAVER 18.0
CRAIGSVILLE 17.0
WEBSTER SPINGS 17.0
FAYETTEVILLE 11E 15.0
SHADY SPRING 14.0
MORGANTOWN 3SE 12.0
SNOWSHOE 1S 11.0
CHERRY GROVE 3WSW 10.0
Kelly, I have two words for you …. Bless you. I will be contacting the blogmaster to get your e-mail address.
Kelly: I emailed you as well, but I would love to be able to share some of your pics with the next blog post.
Glad we have a Burkes Garden correspondent now as often as there is interest in your location.
Having just watched much of CBS News at 6:30 and then Fox Network News, I am glad that no one here today has claimed that Sandy was over-hyped. The devastation in both New York State and New Jersey has been immense. If anything, the damage has been WORSE than expected.
I remember riding the NYC subway system back in the mid-70s and wondering to myself, “You know, if somehow even a small part of this system got flooded, it would cause incredible havoc.” Well, now it has happened. The PATH trains are not part of the NYC system, but the interstate service has been suspended for probably a week because the tunnels got flooded. Saw a pic of water coming into the Hoboken, NJ station (which is where I used to get on in the morning!!) like it was a small waterfall. Some sections of the NYC subway near Battery Park are flooded, too, I think. Coastline damage is horrific, especially in NJ. Two problems …. flooding, and in some places beach sand has been moved and is covering roads and people’s yards. The sand may take longer to fix than the flooding problem. And on and on.
Kelly, tell us, does hubby where a bright shirt with a red S on it, along with a blue cape and red boots?!?! :>) :>) It sure sounds like that might be his wardrobe.
Just got word via Twitter than a 28-inch report has been turned into NWS-Blacksburg at Flat Top, W.Va. — between Beckley and Bluefield on I-77, near Winterplace ski slope.
Just had a few more outages all of the sudden in Montgomery County.
Much of our snow is gone. Patches all around but in other parts of Washington Co the ground is still covered with no patches. My location is in a valley but not near as low as Eva’s valley. I was very surprised to empty 1.5″ of water out of my rain gauge. I had no idea that much moisture fell. Still raining this evening and seems to have snow mixed in. Temperature is 34 degrees.
Kelly, thanks for joining the blog and I saw your pictures on facebook. Pray for sunshine and calm winds.
DArn!! I meant a blue shirt and a red cape …..
Rick, I enjoyed your 7:25 comment about the OFA. Like you and I have said a few times before, their weather forecasts are “for entertainment purposes only.”
Weather geekdom – an interesting 3D satellite radar shot of Sandy from the “Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission”just before she made landfall –
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2012/10/29/a-view-of-sandy-from-the-trmm-satellite/
If you dig around the site there’s something from Isaac last year as well.
Drove towards Paint Bank today and found quite a bit of snow on Potts Mtn and beyond. Snapped a few photos as well. Tropical snow!
Here’ some deep snow video from Tazewell County:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O760BmhOuQ
Finally got power back about 7 pm. Wind and rain was terrible here yesterday evening! Blew a roof off a trailer next to my Inlaws and wind destroyed their vinyl fence around the pool. Numerous trees downed on the route 810 corridor. Got a mess to cleanup at the golfcourse tomorrow, probably at least a dozen trees down. Funny how it seemed all the destruction was the western side of Greene, folks east of Stanardsville said the storm wasn’t bad at all. Can you explain that one Kevin?
Also Kelly Hoge from Burke’s Garden, was your husband kin to the Hoges in Giles county for which Hoges Chapel was named?
I would say the west/northwest winds were bumping into the Blue Ridge and crashing over the other side — similar to Roanoke, except you were closer to the low center. And east of you, the winds diverge and weaken, like they do toward Lynchburg down here.
You had a blizzard warning for a time up there, Jared — in the mountains up above you.
Just got an e-mail from my sister Susie, the one who lives in Ipswich, MASS, 25 miles NE of Boston on the coast. Their high was 65* with heat lightning and downpours. They went out for supper, came back to discover that their power had been off for 90 minutes ….. all of that while they were out. I would say they were one of the big winners (from my POV) from Hurricane Sandy.
Of course many of you would say that the folks in Tazewell County were the big winners, especially if they did not lose power.
Yeah saw that! Doesnt really make since to me for a Blizzard warning for the Parkway. I mean nobody lives that far up the mountain. Definatley could see the snow on the mountains, but of course it never makes it down to us. LOL
Jared, sorry that you and your fellow maintenance staff will be busy cutting up big trees tomorrow. I agree with you and a few other bloggers that the NWS should clean up their act on a few things, especially about issuing Winter Storm Warnings and Watches, etc.
No my husband wears only Carharrt like most farmers LOL. Yes the Hoges from Burke’s Garden are kin to the Hoge’s Chapel Hoges although I would have to pull out the family history to see how. The pictures are in Burke’s Garden not on the mountain itself so the hairpin curve Mr. Griggs is referring to is not in the pictures. We get more snow and drifts in the Garden than on the mountain-usually.