Light snow bands moving through
Light snow bands are rotating back into the Roanoke and New River valleys on the back side of the strong low pressure system centered over northern North Carolina, lifting east northeast. These light snow bands should not add more than an inch to what has already fallen, which, similar to previous events this winter, varies dramatically across the region in a quirky pattern. The most consistent zone for amounts is locations north and northwest of Roanoke starting in Alleghany, Botetourt and Rockbridge counties where 3+ inches have fallen — already a report of 10 inches from Clifton Forge this morning and 11.5 inches at Vesuvius in Rockbridge County. Roanoke Valley amounts seem to commonly be in the 1 to 4 inch range, while the New River Valley has gotten generally an inch or less. I don’t have a full picture of snowfall amounts, those are just gleaned from what I have seen through a variety of online sources this morning, so it may vary at your location.
The low will trigger gusty winds from the west and northwest today. Snow showers and squalls created by upslope flow over the mountains will affect locations that normally get them, along the Virginia-West Virginia border and west of I-77, with a few inches possible especially in higher elevation.
March 6, 2013 - 6:57 AM
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Low got down to 25 but is now 26 with howling winds and about 2 inches of snow. After I posted last night at 11 pm, the rains stopped and it switched to all snow.
A whoppping 1/4″ here so far. I’m waiting for Doug to dig me out with his pitching wedge.
Light dusting on cars, little or none on grassy areas, brisk westerly winds, occasional snow flurries
Jared of Greene – I got a pit in my stomach when you reported that you only have 3″ this morning. The NWS-Sterling has all of Greene painted in a 14″-18″ band, with western Greene in a 18″-24″ band. If you do not realize at least 12″, based on those official forecasts, then you are certainly cursed! Sorry for you.
3 inches in Back Creek/SW County…
About 3/4 of an inch here bottom of road has nothing drops about three hundred feer weird or what
Looks like rain is trying to mix in with the snow here. Temperature is still holding at 32. Just proves my point that Greene is one of the toughest places to get a good snow.
You think blacksburg picks up another inch?
Jared, drive over to Eastern Greene we have about 7″ of heavy wet snow and no power. Still coming down at probably an inch an hour rate or more now
Goes to show how much the NWS knows!
Well John, guess I am truly cursed!
Blacksburg probably only gets an inch from here on if you get some upslope squalls later.
A dusting downtown Roanoke – with flurries. Come on 60 degree weekend!!
Kevin, looks like its more snow and becoming heavier now here at my house. Are the powers that be still projecting this to be an all day snow?
What a morning here in the Richmond area.
Been getting thunder and cloud to cloud lightning since about 4:00 AM.
Went from rain to mix to rain to mix to snow to mix back to heavy rain and thunder last 2-3 hours with temp holding at 35-36. Hardly any accumulaton here. Wife called to report the roads are a mess with all the rain and flooding in town but were clear of snow in Goochland and Loiusa on I-64. The Low looks like it is south of Richmond and Petersburg per the radar with heavier banding east and over Richmond moving WNW.
Martinsville got a light dusting on grass & trees. Always a pretty sight to wake up to snow. It’s cold and breezy – time to wrap up & take my pup for his morning walk.
Ten inches in Clifton Forge? No way. I’ve got only three here. But the mountains all above me are totally socked in. Va511 cameras don’t show that amount here either.
Kirk Avenue: Looks like the downtown heat bubble kept very much from sticking down there. I’ve seen that in action many times when working at the newspaper office.
Nothing at all in the city of Radford but drive just 2-3 miles to the north and west of the city and there is an inch of snow.
corection north and east * of Radford
OriginalSandy; It is possible that report to the NWS came from a higher elevation there.
Dusting to and inch and lightly snowing. I so wish it had been more:-(
Jared: Looks to me like you’ve got hours of snow ahead, based on radar.
It started snowing again at my house around 7am or so, beefing up the slight dusting of snow that had melted mostly from when I woke up early this morning to check. Every aspect of this storm underperformed in my nearby vicinity. Total liquid moisture was barely over 0.6″, when most sources painted 1″+. Total snow was 0.1″, when most sources (except GFS/NAM models) painted at least a 1-3″ accumulation. Oh well, bring on spring…this winter needs to be put out of its misery now. Glad folks further north who had missed out on the snow are getting some though.
Biggest snow report I’ve seen so far is 13.5 inches at Weyers Cave up in the Shenandoah Valley. A foot at Waynesboro.
8:00 and 27*, 2 mi. N of Pulaski. Light dusting of very fine snow. I have more on the screened porch than on the sidewalk.
Washington Co has anywhere from 1/2 to and inch but back roads were icy and snow covered. Schools are closed and the snow has picked back up in intensity. Sadly, work was on time this am and not delayed. Temps are in the mid 20′s and windy. Could this be winter’s last stand? You cannot say that winter has not tried but many feel it has been unsuccessful. Guess it depends on where you live. Location, location, location.,
Kevin, explain something to me. How do I only have 4″ here at my homestead and 10 minutes drive to the east in Ruckersville a coworker of mine has close to 10″ he says? The weather service kept preaching heaviest amounts would be at the base of the blue ridge, which is where I am located. Oh well, at least I have 4″ so far. LOL
Still dumping snow in Verona just north of I64. If it keeps this up we will definitely be in the 18-24″ band.
However, the wind NEVER gives downtown a break. Thank goodness for underground utilities.
We’re up to 7″ here north of Charlottesville. No sign of letting up, as far as I can tell.
Wind is really starting to pickup now with very light snow. Haven’t been out on roads yet but heard plows running late last night. Looks like I get one last fix of pushing snow with the tractor. The snow in the trees is beautiful
With the winds howling do you see much melting?
.4″ snow .14″ water equivalent. .56″ of total precip. 2.4 miles ENE of Blacksburg
Just by looking at this snow….I would say it’s about 4″-inches. Very similar to the January 17th snow, very heavy and wet on the trees and bushes flopping them down, but not quite as damaging. This snow accumulated much less than the ORIGINAL predictions but MORE than the downgraded accumulations, at least for roughly the Fincastle area. We can rest assured this was probably our last dalliance with snow for the season. December 1st…you’l be back soon enough! May we have a more winter pattern next season!
Jared: Not knowing much in detail about your location, I’ll take a stab at your situation.
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Early snow bands moved southwest to northeast, and you may have had some sort of shadow effect from the Blue Ridge. Now that the snow bands are moving east to west in your area, you’ll get much more.
29.7*, wind howling. Revised snow total down to a little over 4″ after I went out to clean off the truck.
It’s been snowing awhile here now in Pembroke (Giles). Just a dusting on ground and gusty winds at times.
Now back to heavy thundersnow and 33 at Rancho De Quago with the ground turning white again. Eastern Goochland Co. just west of Short Pump near Richmond.
32 and heavy snow coming down.At least 6 inches out there.Lucky for me my workplaced closed for the day.Enjoy the snow everyone.
Jared, you are truly snake bit. You are also one of the most faithful posters on this board, always wishing for the bog one. I can’t speak for anybody but myself but, I would have gladly contributed an inch or so or all of my 4″ to help you get your 18″er.
I think my location could be similar to the Bedford location. Think I am in a little warm spot. I think the winter of 09-10 was so cold that it negated the warmth and we still got dumped on. I remember before when Ruckersville got dumped on and you could still see grass here. Oh well, sucks for me! LOL
About 4 inches in Troutville, light flurries falling, 36 degrees, light breeze. Very picturesque, almost postcard worthy.
I’m up on Iron Gate hill. NWS uses the airport on top of Hot Springs mountain where there is a weather station. I’ve always considered that a ridiculous location to report local conditions from. It’s probably over 2000ft in elevation.
about two inches in bedford, not much on the roads or sidewalks though. how much longer can we expect it to snow? any more accumulation? the radar looks like its over for us.
Near the Parkway, atop Bent Mountain, we measure 4″ – chest high to Sam the Corgi, who is plowing through it in a determined way.
Mountaintop Estelle, what do you have on your side of the mountain?
Be thankful Jared, trees are snapping over here left and right. Only going to get worse.
3793 ft. On Hot Springs mt. Just checked my previous guess. Roanoke TV stations like to point out the temps and weather conditions at Hot Springs because they are always way off the charts from where everyone else is. We locals scoff at that because we know how far up in elevation that is and not accurate reporting of actual weather. Wind is picking up here now with light snow. Can’t see any surrounding mountains.
28 here in Hokieburg and wind is roaring! It might have snowed an inch, the brave flakes that have managed to stay on the ground. Heard from my son in Columbus late last night – he said they got ‘so much!’ in his text. His girlfriend in Chicago this morning said they got lots. My son is traveling to Boston today by car with others for a conference so ‘some mom’ worry on that.
Funny blog story – I was at a meeting yesterday about a big event and one of the people there looked at me and said ‘you get insider information on the weather, don’t you?’….well, as a matter of fact, I do have resources! Thanks WJN!
Also, is it my imagination or did they really darken up the text font for the blog? Seems easier to read!
It’s snowing quite vigorously near Bon Air in south Richmond, though it has slacked off a little since a round of thundersnow passed through.
Looks like the low is right on top of me in Newport News. Temp dropped 5 deg in 30 min. 46-41deg. No rain now. 1/2″ so far.
Our 2 inches is blowing around and at times we have white out conditions and I can’t see out. Son lives on the Montgomery/Floyd County line (near Pilot) and they lost power at 6:30 am this morning. They have the same amount of snow as we do and school is 2 hours late this morning over there.
Intellicast says my high today is supposed to get up to 44 today. I will be surprised if it gets above 34 here.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!! Hope you enjoy the day and take a well deserved break from the blog with a big ol’ piece of cake and ice cream!
Sun has been poking out a bit where I’m at in south Roanoke County.
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If you’re north and east of Roanoke you stand a better chance of getting a bit more accumulation in the snow bands rotating through on the back side of the low today.
Scott becomes the first to leak the news about March 6 being my birthday.
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For the record, the 2 1/2 inches outside my window is the most snow that has ever fallen anywhere I’ve lived on my birthday. Prior to today my birthday had an 0-for-3 record on projected snowfalls occurring — 2 in Arkansas and 1 here missed.
Kevin – have a happy HOKIE birthday day!!! You even got some ‘white icing’ on your weather birthday cake!
Just want to say hi to you Original Sandy!My relatives live just down the road from you at Head of the James off of Rt.220.My cousin lives in Covington,and one lives in Lowmoor.Nice to see someone from Clifton Forge posting on Here.Still snowing up here with at least 7 inches now at temp is still 32.
8 inches here just south if cville. Very heavy and wet. Still no power.
Happy Birthday Kevin!
John, hope the golf course isn’t getting to hammered, all we have over there ate crappy pine trees!
Sunny and 50 this morning in south Georgia. Im told its a 34* rain/snow mix in DC proper. Rain snow line is set up on my street it appears.
Happy birthday, Kevin. Thank you so much for all your hard work with this blog.
Hey Kevin Happy birthday to you! Its my wife`s birthday also today We were talking about this is the first time it has snowed on here birthday that we can remember.Still coming down hard here.Just heard them say on WUSA chanel 9 That there are reports of 14 inches around Staunton.Wow!
About an inch here with 25 degrees and hard wind. It is still snowing.
Happy Birthday, Kevin…I’d much rather have snow on a birthday than what I’ve had a couple times for mine…hurricanes. That’s what happens with an early September birthday…especially growing up on the coast.
A friend of mine in Petersburg reported thundersnow over there about an hour ago. I believe the sun is trying to poke out in Blacksburg now…still some snow flying around though, but it’s a lot brighter out there than it was just a little bit ago. Near the NWS office, maybe a half-inch…being generous with the measuring.
Kevin – I hope you have a Happy U.VA. WHOO Birthday!! You certainly deserve it. Once again looks like you pretty much nailed it. Congratulations!!
Enjoy your day!!
Here’s an impressive satellite photo of the big storm blowing up along the coast.
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https://twitter.com/MADUSWX/status/309308438922530817/photo/1
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I know it’s a bit agonizing for the snow lovers in SW Virginia who wanted a “big’un” to see it get this close.
You guys have more snow than we have up here near battlecreek
Windy, blowing non-accumulating snow, sunshine 28 degrees at work in Carroll County this a.m. Happy B-Day Kev. Thanks for everything bud. Enjoy your day.
Disgruntled snow lover here. A heavy dusting over a coating of ice (which was sleet that melted and froze) on surfaces like the deck. Much of the snow is melting already. Wind is picking up. It’s cold.
Happy birthday Kevin!!
9:48 AM…
Now heavy snow and 31 with huge flakes in eastern Goochland County west of Richmond. Now up to 2.5″ fresh snow since about 7:30 AM. Per the radar banding has set up nicely west of I-95 and north of 460 with heavy snow from Winchester to Staunton to Farmville to Richmond to DC. Also the altimeter setting has dropped to 29.40″ with pressure falling rapidly. Wakefield now has Rancho De Quago for 4-6″
Just as I type…MORE THUNDERSNOW!!!! REALLY HEAVY NOW!!!
Winds now gusty to 30 mph out of the NNE.
P.S. happy birthday KM!
Well, Wren…glad to see you on here! We have a balmy 24 degrees with steady winds, about 3.9 inches of snow, but drifting could be a problem getting out of my driveway. However, my snow mobile Subaru, should make it to work just fine, glad it is only a few short miles!Location–base of Poor Mountain, elevation 3100 feet, and cold out there!
A dusting in Bedford.
As has been the case all winter, between .5 and .75 inches of snow here in Goodview. We eneded up with .93 inches of precip from the storm.
Kevin I’m confused, the NWS forecast is calling for snow today …possibly 2-4 inches. Where is this coming from??
Happy snowy Birthday, Kevin! Thanks for all you do to keep us informed!
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We got barely a dusting of snow over here. I need to move to the part of Giles where they make the decisions for school closings, ’cause it sure isn’t here. VDOT has driven by a few times with salt and a plow just to mock me, I’m sure. The mountains are obscured by a really light snow, but it won’t amount to anything.
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Over in Chesterfield, word is they have 1″ on the ground and some thundersnow. There’s a bunch of accidents and they preempted the Today Show for news/weather coverage and to tell everyone to stay home. And to think I rushed home yesterday to be ahead of the storm here. Who knew I should have stayed there for some snow!
We have about 6 inches in Lexington. Our snow “shower” has been going on for the last 4 hours. Visibility is less then 1/4 mile. Main roads are good but were starting to get white again.
7″ and counting in Lexington. It’s still coming down hard, AND the power just came back. This day is looking up!
Howdy from Hot Springs in Bath Co. 3800 feet! Just shy of a foot of snow and some lazy flakes till coming. The wind has died down. WE have our power and Internet back up, and the guys are coming through with plows. My guys headed to the ski slope a hour ago and I may join them soon. Y’all come!
A Facebook friend of mine reported power was out in their section of Powhatan County. Up my way (milepost 140 BRP) we have a little over 3 inches, blowing snow and sun at times. Random snowflakes here and there, but I think it’s pretty much over for us unless we get some of those snow bands Kevin mentioned.
Eastern Roanoke County snowfall total 1.5 inches. The snow was a little bit “drier” and fluffier than I expected but it is melting now.
Have a great Birthday Kevin and enjoy the day.
Happy Birthday Kevin and thank you again for providing such an awesome blog. Hope you get caught up on your sleep.
Got a thin layer of an icy, snow crust. After the brief warm up around midnight, temp went down to 24F in the early morning hours and wind is howling here. Still some flurries going on. Sun is peeking out in between the waves of cloud cover. Seeing that Doppler Carol got more snow, I’d guesstimate that the southern half of Floyd County got a dusting with snow depth increasing north of town. Friends in Willis reported a dusting also. Floyd County schools are closed and based on what I heard last week, this would be the one more snow day that cancels spring break week to make up for the accumulated snow days.
HokieTrax, I believe RT did indeed darken the font as I had posted in the RT feedback forum for the new layout that the a sharper contrast would make it easier for us older folks to read. I remember it being a light to medium grey font before and I had to use my reading glasses. I like the design updates so far. Looks like they take the WJN feedback seriously!
The Bedford climate site reports in with 4.5″ of snow at their 7am observation. That site is 3 miles northwest of me and I only had 1.3″ of snow at that time. They must have been under a really heavy band of snow that just missed me.
Just heard from my son in Lexington. He said the sky turned pink last night during the snowfall. Any explanation for that? And happy birthday, Kevin. I hope you are getting some well-deserved rest.
Normally I would consider this a fine send-off for the 2012/2013 winter season, if it was march 25th. But it ain’t. It’s March 5th. No scientific facts behind the next statement, just 55 years of notes/observations. March is famous for not looking at a calander and notorious for not playing by the rules Update in a couple of weeks..
Happy Birthday Kevin! Thanks for all you do
Happy Birthday Kevin!!! You do an awesome job! Enjoy your day
Well, the overall accuracy of KEVIN and the Satellite Models has proven
to be spectacularly SPOT-ON with this storm.
The sun is peeking out from between wind-torn tufts now. It appears unlikely
that any additional, measurable snowfall will occur here.
Considering the wetness of the snow, I am going to call it now. My “Official / Unofficial”
snowfall depth measurement is…1.9″… on flat surfaces, vehicles, sidewalks.
Added to the pre-existing 11.4″ cumulative Seasonal Snowfall, this storm has increased the 2012-2013 Seasonal Total Snowfall for this
location to 13.3″.
Gigantic, cold-and-blustery-heartfelt THANK-YOU to KEVIN for all his
tireless commitment, attention to detail, contributions, and management
of this Blog. Kevin Myatt’s WEATHER BLOG truly is THE BEST!
Happy birthday, Kevin! I notice its also the bday of Kiki Dee, whose big hit was “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, which the lack of Roanoke snow certainly did to many (not me!).
I should have clarified that the idea that only an inch or less more would fall in snow bands today did not apply to the I-64 corridor, including Lexington-Buena Vista area. Looks like some of these snow bands may work back into the Lynchburg area or even Bedford next hour or two.
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gno: No explanation for pink sky with snow. Today I would guess it’s because their near the western edge of the snow band and there could be some sunlight effects. Last night, no idea.
Well, the overall accuracy of KEVIN and the Satellite Models has proven
to be spectacularly SPOT-ON with this storm.
The sun is peeking out from between wind-torn tufts now. It appears unlikely
that any additional, measurable snowfall will occur here.
Considering the wetness of the snow, I am going to call it now. My “Official / Unofficial”
snowfall depth measurement is…1.9″… on flat surfaces, vehicles, sidewalks.
Added to the pre-existing 11.6″ cumulative Seasonal Snowfall, this storm has increased the 2012-2013 Seasonal Total Snowfall for this
location to 13.5″.
Gigantic, cold-and-blustery-heartfelt THANK-YOU to KEVIN for all his
tireless commitment, attention to detail, contributions, and management
of this Blog. Kevin Myatt’s WEATHER BLOG truly is THE BEST!
(Trying to resolve the Spacing on my Blog Posts. Sorry for any confusion!)
Just spoke to family in Augusta County. They can’t get their door open to go outside and measure but their estimate was around 15-18 inches in Crimora. (and still snowing) She would have gladly sent this to Roanoke
At least 18 inches in wboro
No power
Very Happy BIrthday, Kevin.
I’m looking out my office window at RU and the students (normally in various non-winter clothing, often shorts) are actually wearing pants & hooded jackets, if that tells you anything about the weather conditions here today! LOL!
I appreciate everyone on the blog during the day – you guys are more helpful while I’m at stuck inside at work than any weather channel! I wish I could help right back. Maybe I can sweet talk the hubby into upgrading out “weather station” (i.e. thermometer) at home so I can provide some evening/weekend info from C’burg.
So, as we move past this weather event (or non-event, depending on your location), what’s next for the NRV? Are we still looking at a warm weekend?
A heavy snow shower at my current location 5 miles west of Bedford. Still not sticking to the roads.
As the howling wind blows all of the snow to the end of the drive and the road, I have a question for you Kevin -
what is the correct name for those small swirls of wind that pick up snow and dust and blow it around? They look like mini tornadoes. They are having fun up here on the ridge chasing each other around. Looks like they are playing tag.
Happy birthday, Kevin! Snow event seems to be over in eastern Alleghany county with patchy blue sky and sunshine, however now comes the dreaded predicted wind gusts. Everything flying around and trees swaying. Possible power problems with that.
Kevin, Happy B day!
May today’s gusts blow your candles out for you!
What was the “official” total for snowfall in the ‘Noke?
I’ll track down number down for you a litlte later, Todd. It’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 inches I think. WDBJ was 2 1/2 as of early morning.
Just started a new blog post. Feel free to comment, though I’m going to be off for a few hours, they will get posted from time to time.
Power’s back…
Still hammering in Central VA…now up to 4-5 inches 32 degrees
I’m using Mesonet for Nowcast as NOAA added a radar loop to this.
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/gmap.php?map=akq
Per the newest SREF and NAM Sim Radar, the bands will be setting up from I-95 west to just east of Route 29 with another 6-8 hours of moderate to heavy snow for Richmond to north of Farmville to C’ville to Northern VA.
It appears that the coastal low will either stall or come slightly south. Low currently just north of htl
Will post link to new SREF next comment.