Skating on rain/ice edge Fri-Sat
A three-letter word beginning with “I” to describe the weather over Southwest Virginia Friday and Saturday could be “ice” for many … but “ick” might be more fitting. Snow and spring lovers are going to be equally put out riding the boundary between ice and cold rain for 24-36 hours.
The low-pressure system causing a large amount of weather mayhem across the country will be taking a track more or less along the old Route 66 … Texas Panhandle across Oklahoma, then northeast to St. Louis and Chicago. North and west of the low, a large snowstorm will occur, with many spots in Kansas piling up 1-2 feet — welcome news, in the big picture, 
considering the long-term extreme drought the Plains are suffering. A low getting its kicks on Route 66 is not remotely close to taking a path that would often cause a large winter storm in Southwest Virginia. But sometimes, a southwest-to-northeast moving low farther west like this one doesn’t scour out low-level cold air as efficiently as would a similar low taking a track through the eastern Ohio Valley. The cold air at the surface will be wedged much more strongly than it was on Tuesday. As moisture begins overrunning that cold air late Thursday night or early Friday morning, it will likely begin as period of snow/sleet mix, changing to more of a sleet/freezing rain mix and ultimately rain as temperatures gradually slip above freezing at the surface, generally from southwest to northeast. This will happen at different times in different locations, due to complex topographic factors, so it is possible that some areas will hang on to freezing rain well into Friday morning while others rise above freezing very early. Very generally, locations west and north of Roanoke, and at higher elevations, appear to have the best chance of substantial freezing rain in the first wave. Bent Mountain/Floyd County often seems to be a bullseye for significant ice in most of our freezing rain events. Typically, Roanoke city rises above freezing fairly early in similar situations, but some higher elevations around town get stuck at or below freezing longer. Most of you generally have an idea how your specific location behaves riding the edge of an icy situation … though each situation can present unique challenges that may or may not follow previous norms. The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center has painted most of Southwest Virginia in a slight risk of seeing at least one-quarter inch of ice — generally where tree damage and power-line trouble typically begins — in the 24 hours ending Friday evening.
Unlike with Tuesday morning’s brush of wintry weather, rising above freezing on Friday will mean floating into the mid to upper 30s, low 40s at best, not soaring into the 50s. The wedge of cold air will not break so much as it will modify. This leads us into a second wave of precipitation now expected to overrun the region on Friday night and Saturday morning. Temperatures will be nervously close to the freezing mark to start with, and may edge downward just enough for some locations to see another round of freezing rain. Again, generally speaking, locations north and west of Roanoke have the best chance of significant ice on Friday night and Saturday morning — these regions have been highlighted by the HPC with a slight risk of seeing at least 0.25 inch of ice. This is a rather touchy situation to keep abreast of, as the second wave of precipitation may be wetter than the first, so surface temperatures drifting below the freezing mark could have even more of an adverse impact.
Looking ahead — there will be yet another similar low tracki
ng northwest of us early next week, with some amount of cold-air wedging ahead of it, again. I would not be surprised if there were another period of ice or sleet for some with this storm, but its track and the prevailing pattern make it unlikely to be a larger winter storm in Southwest Virginia. Down the road, however, the first week of March holds considerable interest for winter storm potential. It appears that high pressure building west over the North Atlantic into eastern Canada will trap a large bubble of colder than normal air over the southern and eastern U.S., further pumped into by building high pressure near the West Coast. This NAO-/PNA+ pattern may provide one or more shots at a significant winter storm developing somewhere over the southern or eastern U.S., depending on timing of various disturbances or shortwaves moving around the West Coast high and then under the East Coast trough. It’s impossible to say yet whether there is a large snow waiting on us shortly after the onset of “meteorological spring” on March 1, but it does appear very strongly that “winter is over” declarations that have been echoing off and on for weeks are grossly premature.
February 20, 2013 - 6:41 PM
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Come on Kevin we all know winter is done for this year!Lol!Wow,what a cold day up here only 35 for a high today.Its back down to a cold 25.5 here now.I really throught winter was over in late January,but was i ever wrong.I still want a big snow,but i guess we`ll have to wait and see on that!
Just checked the temp in Monterey,Va its 19.5.Checked the temp in Oakland Maryland its down to 13! If you want cold and snow move to Garrett County Maryland!
Indian Valley John and Hokie Trax – I guess we need to put the fork down and back away from the table for now. Yes, I know all too well about those March snows. Some can be pretty big. This year has seemed to be one of unusual weather; not what some of us are used to experiencing. Glad to hear that there is snow in the plains but not so sure I would want to deal with 1-2 feet and having livestock.
Just checked the temp at Davis,W Virginia Ele-4255-Temp 7! I`m still at a balmy 24.6! Lol.
The Kansas ranchers I talked to on a down day in our first Plains storm trip last May will be giddy. They were hoping our storm chase vans showing up were a sign it was going to rain …. they would have taken a tornado for some rain. Then I told them we wouldn’t be parked at the Monument Rocks on a tourist stop if there were actual storms to chase. They talked favorably about their one foot-plus snow last winter. I think they’ll take the short-term pain for the long-term gain.
Scrolling through the blog, it appears the 50-comment problem has been fixed. A couple of blog entries I just looked at with more than 50 comments now show all of them.
Ice should be a 4 letter word.
Here’s a link to an ECMWF 240 hour snowfall map which goes through March 2cd. From Joe Bastardi’s twitter feed.
https://twitter.com/BigJoeBastardi/status/304382869529325568/photo/1
Ok, the only way to make up for the last 3 pathetic winters is for a replay of MARCH 1993! Bring a big one on baby, winters last gasp!
Just in from walking the dogs and there is a faint ring around the moon. The clouds in front of the moon make it look like it does when it is going to snow. Currently 25 with a humidity of 44 %. Also a slight breeze is still blowing. Glad someone found the knob to slow down the wind.
Jared, would you take a half-size version of 1993?
Anyone declaring “winter is over” must be very confused. In order for winter to be over, it must first begin. I think most of us are still waiting for winter to begin. Forgive me if I don’t get the least bit excited about some fantasy storm on or around 3/1. On a side note, since we are approaching the 20 year anniversary of the greatest snowstorm the Southern Apps have ever seen, maybe someone could get to the bottom of the mysterious March 1993 Blacksburg snow total, that the NWS erronously lists as only 16″, but as we all know, and many have stated on here before, was actually 32″. KM – maybe in all your free time (lol), you could help us with that one?
I am very grateful to whoever was responsible for retrieving those (temporarily) lost comments on previous threads. I made one Sunday evening that had some emotional meaning for me.
Doppler Carol, I see and agree with what you said about the moon. Had trouble finding it for a moment. It is EXTREMELY high in the sky, and it is not even a full moon, which occurs on Monday afternoon.
93 was a brutal storm to work in. I destroyed a K5 blazer running on washboard roads. I also saw my first Humvee when the nation guard came to the rescue. Very impressive storm.
I noticed the ring around the moon as well as I was coming home from church this evening. Some Wisk detergent should take care of it. LOL.
Love the reference to the storm getting its kicks on Route 66!
And I know one thing – I would take a half size version of 1993. That would still be close to a foot.
Johnny near KHLX: I liked your comment about “ice.” Ditto. The word “iced” is a 4-letter word. Reminds me what I sometimes say to folks when they open their mail while I am still within earshot and complain or mutter about “another bill.” DG: “You know what a ‘bill’ is, don’t you? ……. A nasty 4-letter word.”
And I didn’t offer a “fantasy storm” here … just a weather pattern that could be conducive to winter storm development. If I had wanted to go the fantasy storm route I would have flashed the 0Z European model from last night.
I’ll see if I can sort out anything on the 32/16 situation for Blacksburg in ’93.
KM-I did not mean to imply that you were suggesting a fantasy storm, just trying to temper myself from getting too excited because I have heard talk of a storm around that timeframe from other sources. By the way, thank you for looking into the March 1993 storm total discrepancy. If anyone has a video of Robin Reed’s weather report from Sunday evening, 3/15/93 he explicitly reported 32″ in Blacksburg, which was coincidentally double Roanoke’s total of 16″, plus several folks in Blacksburg who lived it know it was NOT 16″ here.
I needed some smiley faces on my comment to lighten the tone, B’burg Mike.
Larry Cosgrove is going for the 3/1 storm now, by the way. I’m sure you wanted to know that.
I think the larger total is correct for Blacksburg.
Channel 7 still thinks it was 32 inches.
http://articles.wdbj7.com/2012-03-13/snow_31161941
I would prefer Jan 1996 over March 1993. We “only” got 18 inches out of ’93 storm (lived at old Willow River apts then). In ’96 we had 27 inches (Pines apts near Oak Grove).
My work never closes so I’ve had to drive in that stuff each time. I may one day tire of that but that hasn’t happened yet
To Newman – a long time hiker friend recommends Ice Trekkers instead of YakTrax. Says they work and wear better. I could have used a pair of either on my January cabin hike in all that crusty snow/sleet going up hill.
I think the teasing of winter is what has annoyed everyone. 15 one day and then it goes to 60 and then back down. It’s not like it hasn’t been cold. It’s cold tonight. Ever notice how these winter events seem to happen on a Thursday/Friday?
BBurg Mike – it definitely snowed more than 16″ in that March 1993 storm. Most of us have photos to prove it.
2012-13 winter has been oddball enough I could see it doing something like making March the snowiest month.
I distinctly remember the storm of 1993 b/c I was a senior in high school and REALLY upset that we missed so much school LOL. It pushed back my graduation date by over a week. I have pictures of the snow coming up to right below the windows on my Cutlass Supreme.
Brian of Goodview, Bburg Mike, Jared. Instead of Option A: a repeat of the March 1993 snowstorm; or Option B: a repeat of the Jan. 1996 biggie, I think I will go with Option C: Neither of the above. I don’t think Sam Oakey would mind me saying that I am speaking for him, too. How do you put one of those yellow smiley faces on one of these comments?? Just imagine one here, weather fans. :>) By the way, i wouldn’t mind too terribly much a 4 or 5-incher. It would almost certainly melt away in no more than 2 days anyway this time of year. Besides, I have noticed that the creeks and rivers have lowered quite a bit since late January.
Just a side note, since snow is just not meant to be for here! I had to go out to eastern Va today for work, and was very intrigued when I got to the Appomattox (spelling?) County line! You could see snow still in patches in the shaded areas..and then east of rt 60 for about 10 to 15 miles, there was still a good covering of snow on the ground! Andsnow piles from the plows, and the unfortunate signs of vehicular accidents into the medians and off the roads! You could definitely tell it was a mess to say the least! The snow cover was just about the entire county along 460 through Appomattox! And stopped pretty abruptly on either side! I just “chuckled” and thought to myself, LOL I have to come out to eastern Va to see good snow!
KM-post 19 – thank you for verifying that it was 32″ in Blacksburg! To this day the single biggest storm in Blacksburg recorded history. Now – please ask the NWS to update their darn records!
Roanoke Times from March 16, 1993, says Blacksburg got 32 inches.
Hi Blacksburg Mike,
It’s a matter of perspective and often location. I’ve got a 14X20ft woodshed with wood that was stacked above my head that is getting pretty empty (very nervous laugh) and a snow total over 2 ft going back to October and several ice events that tells me that winter started a while back. Not to mention that experiencing multi-day power outages three separate times and five times overall since November has strained my poor generator. I am looking at 4 freezing rain graphics in row for the NWS point forecast for my location starting tomorrow night (now where did I put my good pair of Yaktraxs?) And I know that the good folks along the parkway in Floyd County can see me and raise me on this.
This winter weather has been pretty interesting for me so far, often keeping me on the edge of my figurative seat along with everyone else on the blog in the hours before the now-casting starts.
I think the past few winters have given those of us, that saw the the winter of 09-10 when December 18th started a long, snowbound period of misery with substantial damage for some of us, a break for a while. Back then, a Floyd County mob was chasing old man winter around with a razor sharp forks and deadly intent.
(taking a cue from Kevin) —>
Oh shoot, the smiley faces were to be on the end of my post!
Is this another bug in the new format, that the smiley face(s) always end up in the left margin?
And how can I make the smiley face wink?
Howdy all in the lowlands. What a great day for skiing up here in the wild & wonderful. 2 more days to go. I’m keeping an eye for after next week as it is looking more and more primed for a decent chance of a major event for March 1-3. Also if anyone is headed up north to New England next week, there could be another “BIG UN” up that way as well. Looks like the ice threat for late Thursday into Friday is a sure bet for western VA. I’m sure Kevin will keep ya all informed. I’ll be back home Friday night late and will update QWC then. Time for one more nightcap tottie and hit the hay for another day on the slopes. Also one of my longtime friends in Omaha says they may end up with 10-14″ of snow from “Q”…A TWC named storm after me…way cool!
20 this morning as i leave for work.Have a great day all.
Morning all, got down to 19º here this morning. For once I’m hoping a warm nose comes into Carroll and this next event is all rain here.
My gut tells me if you live near the Blue Ridge Parkway it may be a pretty bad ice storm, I guess we’ll see.
Good morning, Kevin! Love the blog and I always look exclusively to you for my weather guidance. I have a business trip this week, leaving early on Friday morning (5am) and driving through West Virginia to Lexington, KY. Do you have any advice on what to expect on the roads? Do you think it would be better to take the southern route through Knoxville and north instead? Many thanks to you! –a devoted fan
Just looked at Weather Channel and for March 1st they have 48? Not really seeing a snow storm from that temperature. However I hear they have to use the GFS because its the american model. Wouldnt it be much better if they took the average of all the models to put these long range predictions out?
We are under a Winter Weather Advisory already up here on Doppler Ridge for tonight into tomorrow afternoon. Clear, breezy, sunny and 18.
First winter is over, and now winter never began? I sure never expected to be this delusional by 45, but I guess life is full of suprises. I have had some of the highest heating bills ever this year, and still had some of the coldest temps in my house I have seen, with a forecast for ice in the next 24 hours, but apparently all this is a figment of my imagination, as winter is over and never really began. Maybe its just flashbacks, how does the song go Griggsy, “moma told me not to come”.
A gorgeous cold morning in the Chapel. Eighteen degrees. Came in late last night and house was cold so I enhanced the fire in the den and decided to build one in the cookstove. It felt heavenly and the house was still warm this morning. Looks like a cold rain for far SWVA with WWA to our east. All rain here on this side of the Blue Ridge and I do say that if it has to be ice, I will let you folks have it. Still want a big snow.
Lile you IV John, my pile looked most impressive in Sept. Lokks right puny now. Stick a pitch fork in it right now.
Indian Valley John – use a semi-colon to make a winking smiley face
What’s the Thursday night/Friday morning ice probability for Smyth County? We aren’t under an advisory at the moment.
Our own Mr. Myatt quoted a large total of snow for Hokieburg in 1993 in 2006.
http://www.roanoke.com/weather/wb/wb/xp-47350
Here’s the Wikipedia link for the Storm of the Century:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Storm_of_the_Century
Looks sort of like a hurricane and there is mention of thundersnow and hurricane-force winds in Boone, NC. That was the year they had to do all these rescues on the Appalachian Trail. Bill Bryson of “Walk in the Woods” writes about this storm in his book.
I really dislike the prospect of an ice storm, but I guess that’s what’s on tap. Hopefully, it won’t mess up travel and won’t cause widespread power outages.
After a substantially wet January, February has been substantially drier locally…probably a good thing for a change. We’ve not yet topped the 1″ mark for total liquid precipitation, sitting at 0.99″. In terms of snow, the little bit we got Tuesday morning pushed my local total to 15″ on the season, which is more than the 08-09 (by 1.7″), and 11-12 (by 2.2″) winters, but still 6.1″ shy of 10-11, and a solid 3 feet (36.3″) less than 09-10.
This winter hasn’t really been all that terribly off in terms of snow totals in retrospect, at least for me, but how we’ve gotten it has been a little more unusual, not to mention all the warmth interspersed between quick shots of cold weather.
I was surprised not to see Franklin County under the same advisory as Bedford , Floyd and Roanoke. If the past is any indication of the future my bet is on ice here in the morning and for public safety KM do you think the NWS will issue an Advisory for us?
Doug,
Here’s how to make a smiley face. Do the following but do not add spaces between the characters.
: ) makes
; ) makes
Those are only a couple of them. But that should get you started.
Well..that second one was SUPPOSED to be a Smiley Face winking…I guess it is just limited to a plain smiley.
Tori: Definitely think there will be patchy ice in Smyth County, but warming above freezing on Friday morning. This is one of those situation likely to be worse in the counties along and EAST of I-77 rather than west, so Smyth County is hanging on the edge. You probably know from living there which parts of the county usually get more ice than others.
Jason: I never tell anyone they should or should not travel, or what route they should take, but there will definitely be more ice/sleet/snow in West VIrginia than Tennessee, which will get mostly plain rain. At 5 a.m. there may be some patchy ice at least in the counties nearest the Roanoke and New River valleys.
Right now, I’m pretty hopeful that (1) amounts will be light overnight/Friday morning, limiting any power/tree problems and (2) the second phase of rain Friday night and Saturday will happen with temperatures above freezing in MOST places.
We tend to have our worst ice storms when surface temperatures are getting colder as rain falls. In this case, they will temporarily drop to or below freezing with the onset of precipitation, then slowly warm. There could be still be some stubborn lingering spots that hang on to freezing longer on Friday, but I think for the most part we’re going to dodge a large scale ice storm.
Franklin County is always the hardest county to peg in these advisories — a large county that is part Southside, part Blue Ridge, part Roanoke Valley, part Smith Mountain Lake, part Piedmont. It probably will depend on how the event unfolds. If it’s like Tuesday and obviously not as widespread with below-freezing temperatures as expected, probably no advisory for Franklin County, If icing becomes pretty widespread to the north and west, I wouldn’t be surprised if Franklin County gets added.
Thank you Kevin. Do you know whether or not Phil Hysell is still the head of the Roanoke NOAA office and if he is still the main contact?
Actually, Dave Wert is the meteorologist-in-chief at NWS-Blacksburg, and has been for several years. Phil Hysell is the warning coordination meteorologist. He coordinates with localities on warnings and advisories for various weather events.
Thank you for the clarification KM.
Jason, We are traveling to Lexington area tomorrow as well.We have more flexibility than you but your question was just perfect. Man I hate to go through TN.
Central Arkansas right now has severe thunderstorm warnings for storms with 1-inch hail and temperatures near the freezing mark. Hail hangs around surprisingly long when its 70 degrees outside, let alone when it’s 32-33.
12z NAM is colder and has quite a bit more moisture than 6z runs.
12z GFS has also trended colder and wetter.
Kevin I was looking at the 12z GFS and it appears that its colder and has more moisture with it around hours 18-24. I was wondering in this situation can you go by the 850 temp line to determine where wintry p-type is likely also if there are any links to the euro snow/frozen precipitation forecast through 02/23/2013?
Hoping we won’t need to utilze National Guard assets March 1-3. A lot of work coordinating that. Continue to monitor here… And thanks Kevin-not anticipating much power outage/tree issues with this event tomorrow morning (in Roanoke City).
Looks like March is going to be warm. Precipitation is supposed to be normal in SW VA.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/off14_temp.gif
Just now taking a look at the 12Z models. Both are colder and wetter — NAM colder at the surface, GFS colder aloft. NAM would suggest more freezing rain/sleet — GFS would suggest more sleet/snow at outset. A little hesitant about it because the models went colder on Tuesday morning too …. but this is more of a cold air damming setup with high pressure pushing cold air in from the northeast.
The 850mb 0C is a pretty rough indicator of the rain/snow line in many situations. The 10m_wind_precip maps actually has 2m temp lines that simulate surface temperatures. They stay below freezing til late morning over much of the area. Still below freezing at 1 p.m. on this NAM map:
http://mag.ncep.noaa.gov//Image.php?model=gfs&area=namer¶m=10m_wnd_precip&cycle=12&image=gfs%2F12%2Fgfs_namer_027_10m_wnd_precip.gif
March as a whole may end up warm, Rick. Not gonna start out that way.
Been told by someone checking them that the soundings are still showing considerable warming above the 850mb level (1 mile up, approximately) on Friday morning. So still more sleet than snow if the GFS is right.
About all that can really be said with confident: Temps close to freezing with preciptiation moving in Friday morning. Likely some icing and/or sleet (maybe light snow) accumulations in much of the region. Beware wherever you go, as conditions may vary with small distances or changes in elevations from whatever it is like at your front door.
WOW! If the Nam was taken very literally, that might be a very significant ice storm for roanoke. Take a look at this: http://coolwx.com/cgi-bin/getbufr.cgi?region=VA&stn=KROA&model=nam&time=2013022112&field=prec
Like Kevin mentioned on comment #60, soundings on both the NAM and GFS are above freezing above the 850mb level, but well below freezing at the surface. Definitely a tricky forecast.
NAM: http://i.imgur.com/iGZNknn.png
GFS: http://i.imgur.com/VCHPypn.png
So, basically…the forecast for tomorrow is a 100% chance of weather happening! I’ve been working to coordinate field work with an out-of-state contractor from Florida, and the wintry weather we’ve had over the past several weeks have forced a couple postponements and reschedulings already. But, the potential for something substantial around the first part of March led me to just go ahead and get them slated in this week, in hopes that the weather tonight and tomorrow morning doesn’t cause too much trouble. I guess we’ll see how that goes…
There is a fine line between wishing for a free day off school/work (if you work for a school, like me) and the possiblity of losing power. The heavy, wet snow we had that began Jan. 17th, successfully knocked out our power (along w/many others). We lived like “Little House on the Prairie” for 2 days. We actually made a fun time of it, since we have a fireplace & camping stove. Now with this icing possiblity, power outages could be the scenario for some. I am not wishing for that.
Not being a pro like you folks, I’m trying to sift through this info to see what Saturday’s forecast is looking like, particularly in all parts of Franklin County.
Thanks!
Odds would tilt toward getting at least some of the freezing/frozen stuff tomorrow, Other John. But exact types, duration of below freezing temps, and amounts are a bit up in the air … and location/elevation dependent. Fun stuff this winter has devolved into.
Yeah Kevin, it seems like every system bringing wintry weather this year has been that way…nothing terribly clear-cut….spotty coverage, marginal temperatures, fairly significant elevation and topographical influence (seems like a bit more than usual, possibly because of how marginal so many systems have been), etc, etc. Hopefully the roads won’t be too bad, but if there’s any amount of accumulating sleet, my guess it is gets real nasty is freezing rain kicks in afterward for a period of time.
Has the 12z euro increased/decreased our moisture regarding this upcoming system?
Saturday looks rainy and cold early, Marjie, then warming up to near 50.
Havent had a chance to check Euro, Robert, and I dont subscribe to any service providing all the maps, so I may or may not have access to the maps you’re talking about. Would welcome anyone who can offer insight on that.
I get the impression this is as iffy (in terms of the form of the precip) as any forecast this winter. I absolutely don’t know what to expect. Tues. morning was not so cold in Giles Co. down along the river. It definitely feels colder today compared to Monday and I guess that indicates the strength of the cold air around here this time.
Just saw the loop of the Euro Kevin, found a ecwmf loop on wunderground of the 12z euro. Looks a bit drier. So the Euro is drier while the GFS/NAM are more amplified? Here’s a link to wudergrounds model maps, they are free to use, Just scroll down to to “Model Data”, choose your model and which z you want, and then choose any depiction of that model such as 850mb temps..etc.
http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?zoom=4&rad=0&wxsn=0&svr=0&cams=0&sat=0&riv=0&mm=1&mm.mdl=GFS&mm.type=SURPRE&mm.hour=0&mm.opa=100&mm.clk=0&hur=0&fire=0&tor=0&ndfd=0&pix=0&dir=0&ads=0&tfk=0&fodors=0&ski=0&ls=0&rad2=0
It’s been warm the last couple of days and we’ve had lots of sunshine. I don’t think we’re going to have a ton of ice accretion on the roads tomorrow.
What is the timing on any frozen precipitation for NRV to Roanoke? NWS is saying snow/sleet before 4am…2 hours before? 4 hours before? Not that I am expecting much but I need to be prepared if I want to see a lonesome snowflake or two.
Have been outside most of the afternoon and the clouds are starting to move in. Breeze is out of the northwest. But there is still some abundant sunshine. Noticed that the bluebirds are back and some of the birds out there chirping sound like spring time.
Tina: Latest NAM has precip edging in to New River/Roanoke valleys between 2 and 4 a.m.
Brandon: I would agree that it will be difficult to get cold enough for road surfaces to freeze solid in the Roanoke Valley. But if there is a lot of sleet or sleet/snow mix at the outset, it could get pretty slushy.
NWS has greatly expanded the WWA’s into Southside, and bumped up their forecast amounts for snow/sleet and freezing rain a bit too. But, unless there’s a good bit of sleet to begin, I generally think the roads should mostly be ok, except the usual suspects of untreated roads, shady areas, bridges, etc…or where it’s been substantially colder…or places further to the north where more sleet is likely.
Is it going to miss us, Kevin?
I work at William Byrd High School and everyone here is following tomorrow’s weather closely. They are also flushing ice cubes down the commode and wearing their pajamas inside out tonight.
Apparently when the ice stops and the rain stops determines if Roanoke County Public School close or not.
The weather is not going to bother me too much. I have four wheel drive. However, the ice better be gone by tomorrow night. My husband and I have a date!
1. I’m home. 2. Just watched Brent Watts on 7. Calling for freezing rain, changing to all rain in some locations, especially Southside and many spots well east of the Blue Ridge. 3. He did an on-camera interview of a Kansas meteorologist at WDBJ7′s sister station (If he gave the letters and city, I missed it). Guy named Ross something (Lowe?). Ross estimates that where he was in Hays, KS, they had received 15″, and the stupendous news for the farmers of the Jayhawk State is that it was a statewide event, according to Ross. Snow lovers, don’t move there. In Hays, they average only 20 inches of snow per year, and last year had only 3 (less than ROA!!). Every farmer out there should be singing, ” You just might find, YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED”
Trevar Cavespring, I am glad you followed up (at 7:54 A.M.) on Blacksburg Mike’s assertion that “winter never began.” I would more or less agree with him IF he had been talking about last winter, and before February 18th. But this winter? Just because we had no big or perhaps by his standards even moderate snowstorms, doesn’t mean we did not (yet) have a winter. What does he call those days when the lows were below 25* and the highs were 35 or below? Spring weather?? Even folks from more northern states would call such temps winter weather. And there were a small number of days in which the high in Blacksburg never even reached 32.
Watching Lindsay Tapases of 13 now. She disagrees with what I said at 5:31 PM. Snow and sleet overnight in central Virginia, with a coating on the roads by dawn. Then transitioning to light freezing rain. Changing to all rain in Southside (after midday?).
Yikes!! “7″ forecasted a high of 36 for Roanoke city in the P.M., but Lindsay is forecasting a high of only 32!! Later this evening I will post what The Weather Channel’s hourly forecast is showing for both Roanoke city and Blacksburg. Right now TWC is showing an all rain event for both cities!!!