Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The groundhog blew it. And there are some people in Southwest Virginia who might like to ring old Punxsutawney Phil's neck.
Wednesday afternoon, just about six weeks after the Pennsylvania rodent said spring was on the way, a winter storm dumped snow, ice and freezing rain from Wise County to Montgomery County.
The precipitation wasn't altogether unexpected, but it was worse than most had thought it would be.
Jan Jackson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, said there were sharp temperature differences before and behind a front that moved through the area. Temperatures started in the 50s and 60s in many places but dropped drastically as a cold front moved through. A low-pressure system developed along the front - and then came the precipitation.
Dan Brugh, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said while VDOT didn't have trucks already loaded with chemicals, road crews stayed close to home in anticipation of bad weather. Because pavement temperatures were higher than air temperatures, he said, roads weren't as bad as they could have been.
Schools in Montgomery, Floyd and Giles counties closed an hour early Wednesday because of snow and slick roads.
In Giles County, where as much as 6 inches of snow fell in some areas, a school bus carrying 10 students was stuck briefly as it tried to negotiate Guinea Mountain near Eggleston about 3:30 p.m. Parents came to pick the children up, said Superintendent Bob McCracken.
Other school buses also got stuck in snow and ice while returning from their regular routes, McCracken said.
A cold rain fell from Montgomery County north for most of the day. Main roads were passable but very wet. In Radford, patches of sleet covered the ground.
State police based in Wythe County reported varied weather conditions, with snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches in Tazewell and Lee counties but mostly rain in Pulaski and Wytheville.
Jackson said the heaviest snowfall was in the far southwestern part of the state. The storm piled 6 to 7 inches on most of Wise County, and almost 10 inches fell on High Knob Mountain.
Precipitation was expected to taper off by early today, with accumulations of 1 to 4 inches around the New River Valley and 3 to 6 inches in far Southwest Virginia.
State Police Lt. C.L. Bailey reported minor wrecks and the beginnings of sleet and snow at midafternoon. At 7 p.m., Brugh said, primary roads in the New River Valley still were covered.
By 8 p.m., state police said they had responded to several minor accidents, and traffic was backed up on Interstate 77 because of heavy snow across the border in West Virginia. In Carroll County, about three miles from the North Carolina border, high winds had blown over three tractor-trailers on I-77.
Staff writers Melissa DeVaughn, Kathy Loan and Ralph Berrier Jr. contributed to this story.
by CNB