Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 30, 1993 TAG: 9312300247
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is. But keep your hats and gloves and woolies at the ready.
"We're not predicting any more significant accumulation," National Weather Service meteorologist Keith Lynch said Wednesday as the most recent snowstorm eased east into the Atlantic.
But cold temperatures that accompanied the storm Tuesday and Wednesday likely will linger for several days. Add to that a wind chill that will make it feel like zero.
And the snow on the ground? That'll stick around through New Year's Eve.
Wednesday morning brought mixed road conditions to the Roanoke Valley and Southwest Virginia, said Laura Bullock, spokeswoman for the Salem district of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Some places had half an inch of ice, some had 3 inches of snow. No roads were closed, but it was slow going on many routes, such as U.S. 220 in Botetourt County.
"But people heeded the warning to stay off the road, so that really helped," Bullock said.
By the afternoon, much of the snow and ice had turned into that urban version of winter - blackened slush. The official definition, according to the National Weather Service, is "like a sno-cone."
Harry McIntosh, chief meteorologist for the Roanoke area, said there are three kinds of winter precipitation:
Snow is frozen water that remains crystallized from the sky to the ground, where it tends to pile up.
Sleet starts out as rain, gets colder as it falls to the ground, and turns to a wet kind of snow near the surface.
Freezing rain, on the other hand, remains cold water until the moment it hits the ground or other things - like cars, roads and electric wires - whereupon it immediately turns into ice.
Freezing rain is what we had Tuesday morning, McIntosh said. Wednesday morning we had sleet mixed with fine snow.
For the past couple weeks, renegade frontal systems and tricky weather patterns have kept professional forecasters on their toes - and the rest of us on red alert.
First, there was the arctic blast that hit Dec. 20, taking Roanokers by surprise. Then, predictions of possibly bad road conditions kept Christmas travelers guessing. And now, the ice cometh.
Early this week, a weather front was lying roughly along the Virginia/North Carolina border with warmer air to the south and colder air to the north.
Little low-pressure systems moved along the front in waves - like when you snap a rope, McIntosh said. These blips allowed warm, moist air to escape up into Virginia. Hence we get freezing rain.
These kinds of patterns can bring different weather to places 50 miles apart, he said. And one or two degrees in temperature can mean the difference between driving or sliding to work.
Weather caused a United Express jet on its way from Dulles Airport outside Washington to Huntsville, Ala., to make an unscheduled stop Wednesday night at the Roanoke Regional Airport.
A heating mechanism in the plane's windshield malfunctioned. Barry Beneski, public relations director for the airline, said the plane landed in Roanoke so the heater could be repaired to prevent the windshield from icing. The flight's passengers were being rerouted Wednesday night, he said.
Temperatures in the 20s and 30s predicted for today will combine with high wind to produce significant wind chill in much of Virginia.
Temperatures will begin to rise into the low 40s by this weekend, but the snow on the ground likely will stick around until 1994.
Those planning on attending First Night Roanoke need not worry about the weather.
"At this time, we don't anticipate rain or snow on Friday evening," McIntosh said.
Besides, said Wendi Schultz, the event's coordinator, "It's New Year's Eve. We obviously didn't plan on 90-degree weather."
The Associated Press and staff writer Todd Jackson contributed information for this story.
by CNB