Valley On Ice
It seems I’ve stumbled on the weather beat. This is only, say, the 10th weather story I’ve done this month. From Wednesday’s Daily News-Record:
HARRISONBURG — Road conditions quickly deteriorated Tuesday, soon after the governor declared a statewide emergency in response to the ice storm that overtook the Valley.
Forecasters called for ice up to three-quarters of an inch thick as Tuesday’s wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain froze overnight.
That layer of ice created hazardous driving conditions and posed a threat to pull down power lines and trees, forecasters said.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declared the statewide emergency Tuesday afternoon, directing several state agencies into action.
The Virginia National Guard is deploying up to 150 guardsmen to aid emergency response teams. The Guard could arrive in Harrisonburg today, although word of their exact deployments along the Interstate 81 corridor hadn’t been released Tuesday, said Maj. Gen. Robert B. Newman in a statement following Kaine’s announcement.
Two teams, each made up of 30 soldiers and four Humvees, will be dispatched to help with emergency transportation and evacuation along the I-81 corridor, Newman said.
Kaine also called on the Virginia Department of Forestry to place chain saw crews in “critical locations” across the state, and the Virginia Department of Transportation to clear debris from roads.
“State disaster-response agencies stand ready to help those in need,” Kaine said in Tuesday’s statement. “[T]his disaster declaration allows us to pre-position certain assets in specific regions where weather could create problems.”
Forecasters said the ice posed the biggest threat to the Shenandoah Valley and Northern Virginia. But the entire state and region are also expected to be hit with up to half an inch of ice, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency issued a winter storm warning Sunday, calling for three days of hazardous weather.
By early Tuesday evening, several businesses in town had closed in anticipation of the worsening storm. Officials from Harrisonburg city, and Rockingham, Augusta, Shenandoah and Page county schools also had announced they were closing for today.
The storm warning remains in effect through 2 p.m. today.
Weather-Related Wrecks
Even as VDOT dumped tons of salt and grit on freezing roads, several wrecks occurred in the region, including a 25-car pileup on Afton Mountain.
Police said one person was seriously injured in the wreck, but hadn’t reported the extent of those injuries as of press time Tuesday.
The wreck shut down both lanes of Interstate 64. Traffic was diverted to Va. 250 until I-64 was reopened about 6:30 p.m., said Sgt. David Cooper of the Virginia State Police.
Local emergency response teams were called to assist in the wreck, Cooper said.
“The visibility out there is down to zero,” Cooper said Tuesday afternoon. “The ice definitely has something to do with [the wrecks].”
As freezing rain continued to fall on the mountain Tuesday afternoon, Cooper said several tow trucks were called to the Afton Mountain crash scene to clear cars from the highway.
VDOT spokeswoman Sandy Myers warned motorists to use extreme caution when traveling through the Valley.
“Road surfaces may look wet and passable at normal speeds but could have treacherous icy patches not visible to the eye,” she said in a statement.
Outlook
Today’s high is expected to reach the lower 30s, with a low of 13 degrees overnight.
Once the storm passes, temperatures are expected to hover in the lower 20s Thursday. Forecasters predict mostly sunny skies, but wind gusts up to 25 mph.
Other areas of the region also under the storm watch are expected to reach wind gusts of up to 40 mph today, upping the chance that accumulated ice could pull down power lines causing outages, according to the National Weather Service.
Snow is possible again Saturday night. Forecasters predict a 30 percent chance of snow showers, with lows around 20 that night.
Posted: February 15th, 2007 under work.
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