Posted on 12/18/2009 11:19:34 PM PST by Darnright
1:54 a.m. The Wythe County Sheriff’s Office says Interstate 77 between Wytheville and West Virginia has been shut down due to the weather, and accidents blocking the highway. All other traffic on I-81 and I-77 is moving slowly with only one lane of traffic open.
National Weather Service says Roanoke has received a foot of snow. Blacksburg at 11.2 inches.
VDOT says multiple sections of Interstate 81 are not moving, on both the northbound and the southbound side from Rockbridge County through Wythe County .
VA isn't Florida or Georgia or even Tennessee where I would expect it....
People - learn how to drive in the snow...please.
This sucker was not well forecasted. Up until Wednesday, the Accuweather app on my iPod kept calling for rain. It caught many, many people by surprise at least in Roanoke.
In Lexington, about 45 minutes north of Roanoke, we have about 18-20 inches on the ground by my reckoning, and the snow continues to fall steadily this morning.
The roads are treacherous, Rt 81 drivers are stuck and stranded as I understand it
In Lexington, about 45 minutes north of Roanoke, we have about 18-20 inches on the ground by my reckoning, and the snow continues to fall steadily this morning.
The roads are treacherous, Rt 81 drivers are stuck and stranded as I understand it
OUCH! Poor person!!!! (But good catch as far as the photographer is concerned.)
I’m in the Baltimore area - we already have 12 inches and the second front is expected to dump another 12!
12:37 p.m.
VDOT says both northbound lanes of Interstate 77 at the East River Mountain tunnel are back open.
———
12:30 p.m.
Roanoke County has declared a local state of emergency.
As part of it, Roanoke County Fire and Rescue opened a shelter at the Fort Lewis Fire & Rescue station to give stranded drivers on I-81 a place to get warm and sleep overnight.
The department says three of its crews are helping State Police on I-81, working to dig out drivers in the southbound lanes on I-81, near the Dixie Caverns exit. The crews are also working to get tractor trailers on the side of the road, so the snow plows can pass through.
———
12:10 p.m.
VDOT says I-77 northbound at the East River Mountain tunnel is blocked
I wonder if 81 is clear. We are thinking about venturing out and going to C’burg. Our road hasn’t even be cleared yet, but we have 4x4 vehicles that can make it out.
NOVA/Maryland getting heavy snow:
http://www.wusa9.com/video/default.aspx?aid=83536&storyid=93737#/Weather+Webcast/58147221001
VDOT reporting I-81 North at 120 is blocked and backed up 15 miles, due to a disabled vehicle.
http://511virginia.org/Conditions.aspx?r=1
Brrrr !!
Here in WV (I live 30 miles w of Winchester), the thermometer is at 24 and the snow depth is over 30! It's still snowing. My dog now refuses to leave the deck. It;s only got a foot or so, since I cleaned it off earlier. I'm waiting for daylight tomorrow, and hoping for sunshine. The forecast looks cold all the way out til next weekend!
Brrr indeed!
I-77 shutdown nightmare
Instead of a highway, Interstate-77 looked more like a parking lot earlier today in Wythe County as cars sat in bumper to bumper traffic.
Meanwhile, homeowners were busy dealing with headaches of their own like shoveling snow out of driveways to plowing it out of roadways.
The heavy snowfall also created dangerous driving conditions…forcing hundreds of big rigs to pull off the road and into a truck stop in Fort Chiswell.
“We came up the mountain last night and it was horrible,“ said Trucker Jeff Waickman. “It was treacherous.“
Last night, Dianna Floyd and her husband never made it to their destination.
They, along with more than 300 people, spent the night at George Wythe High School. “Hard on the floor with one blanket.“
The county opened the shelter after many people who had just planned to pass through the area, got stuck in the area. “Better than the alternative, which would have been stranded on the highway all night long,“ said Floyd.
Erika White’s car was stranded on the highway all night long, after she hit a patch of ice and slid off the road. “The front of the car was pretty much covered in snow, so we’re going to try to back it up and get it out of here,“ said White.
In Radford, snow in one area measured almost 11 inches, while viewers in the other parts of the New River Valley reported more than 20 inches.
Rough, but endurable. The trick is to put as much of it under you as possible, while still being covered on top. Use your shoes and bundled-up outer garments as a pillow.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.