Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 30, 1995                   TAG: 9501300074
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW?

About the only sunshine Roanokers were likely to see Sunday would have been on their television sets as they watched the Super Bowl telecast from Miami.

The snow that started Saturday continued into Sunday and, by late Sunday afternoon, more than 5 inches covered the Roanoke and New River valleys. More than 8 inches fell at Mountain Lake in Giles County. And another 2 to 4 inches was expected to be on the ground by morning.

Residents seemed to take it in stride. Many stayed indoors, which made for fewer weather-related accidents.

In fact, the only notable mishap caused by snow Sunday was a back injury suffered by a Roanoke County woman who crashed into a ditch while sledding in the Hunting Hills subdivision.

"I believe people are respecting [the weather] more since that ice storm last year," said Greg Hepler, a dispatcher with the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office. "We've only had a few minor accidents. It looks like they're staying in."

There wasn't much reason to leave the house. Most churches were closed. Valley View and Tanglewood malls were closed, with the exception of a few anchor stores and restaurants.

Those restaurants and sports bars that planned to stay open and hold Super Bowl gatherings were receiving cancellations because of the weather.

By late Sunday afternoon, nearly every school system in Western Virginia had decided to close today, and the remainder were opening an hour or two late.

Many roads were still treacherous Sunday, with the icy sheen of a freshly waxed table. Almost the only vehicles that could be seen venturing out in Roanoke were pizza delivery cars, four-wheel-drive trucks and snowplows.

Working in 12-hour shifts, city road workers dusted the white, barren streets with more than 200 tons of chemicals, salt and gravel. By late Sunday afternoon, most major roads were clear but some back roads were still choppy.

Virginia Department of Transportation workers had problems keeping up with falling snow on the interstates early Sunday, especially on I-81. Todd Marshall, a VDOT worker, said, "We're pushing it off the road as fast as it accumulates."

Some flights into Roanoke Regional Airport were delayed but tower staff said both runways had been cleared of snow and many flights were leaving on time.

For many people, the snow was less an annoyance and more a pleasant distraction.

At Salem Municipal Golf Course, more than 50 children sledded downhill on bright red, green and orange plastic sleds. A few daring souls even tried the run riding atop old tires.

The low-pressure front that carried the snow into the Southeastern United States has moved a lot slower than most meteorologists expected. And that means more snow than previously predicted, said Pete Snyder, a meteorologist technician for the Weather Service in Roanoke.

As of Sunday evening, Weather Service forecasters were calling for a 40 percent to 50 percent chance of light snow today, possibly mixed with ice.

Last week, forecasters were predicting a combination of freezing rain and sleet to fall through most of last weekend. That's what normally happens when the surface layer of air is colder than air currents higher up in the atmosphere.

"But it's been cold all the way through," Snyder said, "and, subsequently, we're getting more snow."

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