Winter storm warning in effect from 1 am Sunday to 6 am Tuesday; VDOT update

Here is the latest on the weather storm warning from Rick Farrall, County Emergency Supervisor:

* WHAT: Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches and ice accumulations of around one-tenth of an inch.

* WHERE: Portions of western Maryland, the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and the Potomac and Allegheny Highlands of West Virginia.

* WHEN: From 1 AM Sunday to 6 AM EST Tuesday. Snow will most likely overspread the area between 1 and 3 AM early Sunday morning. The steadiest snow will fall Sunday morning and afternoon. Light snow will mix with sleet and freezing rain and become intermittent Sunday night into early Monday morning. Steadier snow is expected later Monday morning through Monday night.

* IMPACTS: Travel will be very difficult Sunday through Tuesday morning due to a prolonged period of snow and wintry precipitation with temperatures below freezing.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Visibility may be reduced below one-half mile at times in heavier snow.

WHILE THE SKIES ARE BLUE – PLAN AND PREPARE

VDOT issued this release today:

A major winter storm is forecasted for the Shenandoah Valley on Sunday, January 31, and possibly lasting into Tuesday, February 2. Virginia Department of Transportation crews are planning and preparing for snow removal operations on the over 14,000 lane miles of state-maintained roads in the VDOT Staunton District. The VDOT Staunton District serves Frederick, Shenandoah, Clarke, Warren, Page, Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, Alleghany, and Bath counties.

On Friday and Saturday brine was applied to the interstate, primary, and heavily traveled secondary roads. The brine helps to prevent ice from bonding to the road surface.

The #snow might not be falling yet, but VDOT teams are already working to pre-treat roads in preparation for #winter weather this weekend. If you are traveling today, please be patient with VDOT crews and give them extra space to work!

VDOT will have plows deployed overnight on Saturday ready to begin work once the weather begins. There will be 749 pieces of equipment ready on Saturday for plowing and snow removal. Wreckers will also be staged along the I-81 corridor to assist with crash clean-up.

As the storm begins, the VDOT Staunton District plans to have approximately 500 employees actively engaged in snow removal work along with another 1100 contractor staff members. All staff will work in 12-hour shifts to enable 24-hour operations.

During the early part of the storm, travelers should be aware of changing weather conditions and delay unnecessary travel until conditions improve. It is important to allow the snow removal vehicles and emergency vehicles room to perform their work safely. As the weather intensifies, it is anticipated that travel will not be advisable due to hazardous conditions

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic traffic volumes is down. In the Staunton District for the period of January 18-22, 2021, on Interstate 81 traffic volumes are down 19% from a year ago, Interstate 66 volumes are down 9% from a year ago, Interstate 64 in Augusta County volumes are down 32% from a year ago and Interstate 64 in Alleghany and Rockbridge volumes are down 2% from a year ago. However, it should be noted that since September 2020 truck volumes overall in the Staunton District have increased above 2019 levels.

Road conditions and traffic cameras can be found on the VDOT 511 website at http://www.511Virginia.org, Roads with snow conditions will be marked minor, moderate, severe or closed.

Road condition definitions:
• Closed – Road is closed to all traffic.
• Severe – drifting or partially blocked the road.
• Moderate – snow or ice on major portions of the roadway.
• Minor – bare pavement except for isolated spots of snow, ice, or slush. Driving with caution is recommended.

For a text listing of winter weather road conditions go to http://www.511Virginia.org, look at the orange bar on the top of the page and click on “Text Views” and then click on “Road Condition Table”. Look at the pull-down box that lists all jurisdictions. In this box, individual counties can be chosen to view.

On the go? Then visit VDOT’s Free Virginia 511 Tools to get your 511 app for android or iOS. Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511.

The VDOT Customer Service Center can be accessed through its mobile-friendly website at https://my.vdot.virginia.gov/. Agents are on site 24/7 every day of the year to assist the public. People can also call the VDOT Customer Service Center at 800-FOR- ROAD (800-367-7623).

The Staunton District Snow Page is on the VDOT website under Travel Center Snow Emergency Pages. The Staunton District Twitter feed is at @VaDOTStaunton.

VDOT statewide Twitter messages can be found at @VaDOT. The nine districts can be found at: Hampton Roads @VaDOTHR; Richmond @VaDOTRVA; Northern Virginia @VaDOTNOVA; Fredericksburg @VaDOTFred; Culpeper @VaDOTCulp; Lynchburg @VaDOTLynchburg; Bristol @VaDOTBristol; Salem @VaDOTSalem; Staunton @VaDOTStaunton.

VDOT can be followed on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube. RSS feeds are also available for statewide information. The VDOT Web page is located at http://www.VirginiaDOT.org.