This past late fall and winter have been a bitch, starting back with November's "Nor'Ida" flood and torrential rain (the repairs to the house are still weeks away from completion). That storm has been followed by successive snow storms and now perhaps the worse storm yet is predicted to hit today. Charlottesville, which still has snow from last weekend's storm, is predicted to get 2 feet as is Washington, D.C. The photo above shows the chaos in one Charlottesville supermarket as people try to stock up - my sister said it took her 2 hours to pick up a few essentials. My mother has gone to my brother's house to stay. His house has a Vermont wood stove, so there will be heat even if the power goes out and he has a first floor bathroom. In addition, he and his wife have a Land Rover, so they can still get out if they need to do so. This area may get 3-4 inches of snow which is more than enough to create chaos. Here are highlight's from Charlottesville's Daily Progress:*
Call it snowmaggedon, the snowpocalypse, a snowtastrophe or just a gigantic pain in the neck, a huge snowstorm is expected to blanket the region today and set a new Charlottesville record for snowy winters.
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The storm has taken a track that brings it farther to the west than originally predicted, which should keep upper air temperatures low enough to make moisture fall as either sleet or snow rather than freezing rain. “That’s good. We don’t want freezing rain,” said Jerry Stenger, of the University of Virginia’s climatology office. “I’m leaning toward 16 to 20 inches for Charlottesville and I think we might get 20 to 28 inches in other areas.” With that amount of snow, authorities aren’t sure how long it will take to get roads passable again.
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“We stand a really good chance of breaking the record [today],” Stenger said. “Plus, we have another storm expected on Tuesday that could bring us another 2 to 4 inches. And we have six more weeks of winter to set the record.” Not everyone is as excited about setting the snow record, however. A series of storms has kept Virginia Department of Transportation snow removal teams at work on the weekends.
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UVa, Piedmont Virginia Community College and local schools have canceled classes today to help reduce traffic. “Consistent with the state declaration of emergency and the local declaration, the University of Virginia is canceling classes [today],” said Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer of UVa.
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From my many years at UVA, I know that it is VERY rare for UVA to cancel classes, so they must truly expect to get hammered. It sounds like it will be a good weekend to be a couch potato!
Call it snowmaggedon, the snowpocalypse, a snowtastrophe or just a gigantic pain in the neck, a huge snowstorm is expected to blanket the region today and set a new Charlottesville record for snowy winters.
*
The storm has taken a track that brings it farther to the west than originally predicted, which should keep upper air temperatures low enough to make moisture fall as either sleet or snow rather than freezing rain. “That’s good. We don’t want freezing rain,” said Jerry Stenger, of the University of Virginia’s climatology office. “I’m leaning toward 16 to 20 inches for Charlottesville and I think we might get 20 to 28 inches in other areas.” With that amount of snow, authorities aren’t sure how long it will take to get roads passable again.
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“We stand a really good chance of breaking the record [today],” Stenger said. “Plus, we have another storm expected on Tuesday that could bring us another 2 to 4 inches. And we have six more weeks of winter to set the record.” Not everyone is as excited about setting the snow record, however. A series of storms has kept Virginia Department of Transportation snow removal teams at work on the weekends.
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UVa, Piedmont Virginia Community College and local schools have canceled classes today to help reduce traffic. “Consistent with the state declaration of emergency and the local declaration, the University of Virginia is canceling classes [today],” said Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer of UVa.
*
From my many years at UVA, I know that it is VERY rare for UVA to cancel classes, so they must truly expect to get hammered. It sounds like it will be a good weekend to be a couch potato!
1 comment:
As a native Minnesotan, it's always humorous for me to watch you guys in states that don't get snow cope with a snowstorm that only slows us down for a bit. Oh yeah and remember global climate change has nothing to do with this. Keep safe.
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