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Snowstorm hits Northern Neck
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| by Reid Pierce Armstrong |
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KILMARNOCK—A late winter snowstorm accompanied by powerful winds pummeled the Northern Neck Sunday night and on into Monday, blanketing the area with nearly a foot of snow in some spots.
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 Click above to start photo array |
 The National Weather Service (NWS) reported snowfalls of five to six inches along the Northern Neck waterfront, six to eight inches in the inland portions of Lancaster County and east of Route 200 in Northumberland. Some inland areas of Northumberland around Callao received more than nine inches of snow, according to the NWS.
The storm shut down schools, government offices and businesses and left hundreds without power. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph left a trail of broken tree branches and downed power lines.
Gov. Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency Tuesday, authorizing state agencies to respond if local governments needed assistance.
“This is the most widespread winter weather event to affect Virginia in eight years,” Gov. Kaine said. “So far our counties, cities and towns are coping very well with all the snow, wind and power outages. We want to be able to move quickly if additional help is needed to protect the health and safety of our citizens.”
Dozens of cars ran off the road Sunday evening as the storm hit and portions of Route 17 southbound were closed for a time Sunday night due to a high volume of accidents.
High winds, snow drifts, downed trees and ice wreaked further havoc on the roads.
As of Tuesday morning, the Virginia Department of Transportation continued work to make all roads passable within 48 hours after the storm ended, shifting their focus from primary to secondary routes and subdivision streets.
Progress was being made “with the help of Mother Nature,” officials said. Temperatures had remained below freezing all day Monday and Tuesday.
Northumberland County emergency services coordinator Kenneth D. Eades said some 2,600 people in Northumberland were still without electricity as of 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, but were expected to have it restored by Tuesday evening.
All told, more than 10,000 people in Northumberland and Lancaster counties lost power during the storm.
The last time this area saw such a large, late-season snowfall was March 1 and 2, 1980, when 13 inches of snow fell across southeastern Virginia. |
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