Shelter open: Worst conditions expected after sunset (updated 7:24pm)
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7:24pm update: Dominion Virginia Power spokesperson Dan Genest just told a radio audience that 5,700 Central Virginia customers are now without power and that the rest of us should be prepared for a potential multi-day outage.
7:15pm update: Although some mixed precipitation has been observed around the area, according to a meteorologist in the Sterling weather center, it’s not going to last. Snow will pick up again in the evening hours with an expected accumulation of 12-16″ overnight and a total expected accumulation for the Charlottesville area now over two feet.
5:22pm update: Due to lots of fallen limbs and trees, Catlin urges anyone driving to carry a chainsaw and seeks members of the chainsaw-wielding public to assist the Emergency Services staff to help clear such blockages from roads.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of power lines down calls,” Catlin says in a release, “a total of about 800 local customers without power according to Dominion Power.”
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For those without heat, a regional shelter opened at noon today at Monticello High School, according to Albemarle County spokesperson Lee Catlin, who notes that it will be staffed by Social Services, the Red Cross, the Health Department, and the County Sheriff’s Department.
Catlin also notes that authorities have issued a call for drivers of four wheel drive vehicles to volunteer for emergency transport duty, and anyone interested should contact 979-INFO.
Heavy snow and high winds up to 25mph are expected tonight rendering travel unwise if not impossible. Although a Hook reporter just made the trek from downtown to Ivy around 4pm, and even though we find such driving enjoyable, non-essential travel is not advised.
An updated National Weather Service report suggests that today’s approximately six-inch snowfall is a mere presage to near-blizzard conditions tonight. (Were it not for the near-arctic meteorological definition of a blizzard— requiring winds at least 35mph— this Snowmageddon would be a blizzard.)
Meanwhile, climatologist Jerry Stenger was just heard interviewed on WINA radio talking about widespread– not just higher elevation– snow depths over 30 inches.
Jerry Stenger, Va Climatologist just said on WINA; this storm is like a bomb going off, a condition he called bomb cyclogenesis. He stated further; that with each new update this storm gets stonger and the blizzard conditions this evening, will produce disruptive configurations of snow to form. He his now expecting 30 of more inches to be common throughout our area, with more in higher elevations. Finally, we can all agree on something–this is one for the record books !
http://weather.ou.edu/~mbergman/bombcyclogenesis/index2.html
Here’s another way to describe this year: Nuclear Winter
Over 2,000 out of power now.
Snowpocolypse, etc. These are the stupidest f-ing terms I have ever heard. Come on, Hook…….
I disagree and think this snow terms are fun just like snOMG!
NBC just used “snowpocolypse” and “snowmageddon” both to describe the DC area in their 6:30 p.m. broadcast.
I keeps a chainsaw in my car regardless
A snowmageddon for the histrionic books!
Just heard CBS say meteorologists can’t believe their eyes, as they watch this storm develop, and are calling it EPIC . Bomb set to detonate at 8pm . You ain’t seen nothin yet.
I think “snowpocolypse” and “snowmageddon” are brilliant terms for this madness!
The only “mad” people in this storm are those who think this is a joke.
The weather outside is frightful But the fire is so delightful So since we’ve no place to go Let it snow
Sorry no snow at my house–sleet and coming down hard. My flat roof is almost clear, but just taking a break, and will have to start all over again soon –no way the roof can hold the weight of this stuff.
After about an hour and a half in the dark, I just got power back at my house off Hydraulic. I’m charging my phone and bringing in more firewood, but it gives me reason to hope that most people won’t see multi-day outages.
Im declaring war on Mother Nature. Its on
9:55 p.m. Just got home from cruising the city and Route 29 looking for a package of country ham for breakfast. Thank You Kroger! Tried to go to J C Penny, but they closed early. And Lowes, they closed at 7: 30 p.m. Dangit!
The street crews are doing a pretty good job so far. But they might not be able to keep this up all night long and tomorrow.
It’s all sleet and rain out there right now, no snow. Trees everywhere are hangning low and hanging on power lines. There will be plenty of power outages by morning.
Saw a lot of Dominion Virginia Power trucks out too. They’re doing their best I’m sure.
Yeah, the change to sleeet totally blows. I was counting on some serpous snow. this will drop the totals substantially. One guy is saying to expect 16 inches more, but that will still only get us to maybe 2 feet. This is also VERY heavy.
went for a brief jaunt to see what the icing we’re getting is doing - my feet didn’t even punch through the earlier snow. still waiting for it to switch back.
looks like someone leaked info to livescience.com:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100207/sc_livescience/snowpocalypseseenfromspace