ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 9, 1996 TAG: 9601110049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
The worst winter storm in a generation forced Virginians to contend with up to 3 feet of snow that surrounded their homes, blocked residential streets and country roads, and generally immobilized much of the state.
There were five weather-related deaths, four in highway accidents. One man died from a heart attack while shoveling snow.
In Western Virginia, National Guardsmen used three armored personnel carriers, tracked vehicles that resemble tanks, to help state police and emergency workers get to traffic accidents and the sick in remote areas.
About 150 Guardsmen manned other four-wheel-drive vehicles, said Maj. Tom Wilkinson.
``The hardest thing is to get people out of where they live to the armories where the four-wheel-drives are,'' he said.
Most schools in the state were closed Monday, and Fairfax County canceled classes for today and Wednesday. Many businesses closed or curtailed services.
In Northern Virginia, crews from the Virginia Department of Transportation contended with winds pushing 4- and 5-foot snow drifts across primary roads, said Steve Mondul, the agency's director of emergency operations.
Work crews were scheduled to move to secondary roads, but the drifting snow forced them to stay on primary roads and interstates, postponing any efforts to clear smaller roads until the wind dies down, Mondul said.
At the Daily Planet, a facility for the homeless in Richmond, at least 300 people got food and clothing and took refuge from the freezing temperatures during the day Sunday, an increase from the 125 who usually visit the facility at this time of year, said substance abuse director Paula Mehaffey.
Some church-based winter shelters had to close their doors because staff members couldn't get to work, which drove the homeless to the Daily Planet, she said.
At Peaks of Otter Lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway, 18 guests and five workers were hoping the park service and highway crews could get the roads clear enough so they could leave. They've been stranded since Saturday.
Aleta Meyer of Richmond brought a friend from Holland to the lodge Saturday to see the mountains.
``I thought there'd be about eight inches of snow. I think there's close to 4 feet,'' she said. ``He's never seen so much snow all at once.''
The roads to the lodge remained blocked all day Sunday. Guests and staffers played games and talked, Meyer said. They also surprised the Virginia Commonwealth University professor with a birthday party at breakfast Monday in the lodge's dining room.
Pat Michaels, the state climatologist based in Charlottesville, said he thinks the storm was not as bad as the powerful Ash Wednesday storm of 1962.
Other competitors for the worst snowstorm in Virginia history are one in February 1899 and a 1772 storm known as the Washington and Jefferson storm because both founding fathers recorded 32 to 36 inches of snow on their estates.
In Fairfax County, part of the roof of the Word of Life Church collapsed because of the weight of the snow. There were no injuries.
In downtown Norfolk, Virginia Power workers worked through the day to restore electricity one building at a time after a cable failure Sunday set off a series of underground explosions.
No one was injured by the flying manhole covers and flames shooting from grates, but the Waterside Marriott had to relocate its guests because of the blackout.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB