ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996 TAG: 9601140009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Above
Western Virginians on Friday raised their eyes to the heavens and thanked the weather gods for sparing the region another foot of snow.
But as they awoke today, the hangover from last weekend's snowy binge lingered: snow-packed or slushy streets; icy sidewalks; stuck cars; dented fenders; aching backs; damaged roofs; empty oil tanks; piles of trash; and bare cupboards.
Relief, however, is in sight.
Weather forecasters are predicting four days of mostly sunny weather, with highs in the 40s, through Tuesday.
"These temperatures will help," said Sam Simpson, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
"The sunshine over the next three to four days will help the roads clear up and dry. ... It should give us some time to recover and get [packed snow] off the roads."
There's a chance of precipitation Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to dip. Right now, forecasters are unsure if it will be rain, ice, or more snow, Simpson said.
The latest storm added 3 to 5 inches to the snow already on the ground in Western Virginia, but was less kind farther north, where a small jet skidded off the runway at Washington Dulles International Airport.
The storm also was blamed for the collapse of a clothing store's roof in Colonial Heights.
Gov. George Allen wrote President Clinton asking him to declare Virginia a major disaster area and provide federal assistance with the cleanup, even though Friday's storm wasn't as potent as forecasters first predicted.
``I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and the affected local governments,'' the governor wrote.
The death toll in Virginia from the first storm was 14, including nine who died after suffering heart attacks while clearing snow.
Here in the Roanoke Valley, many neighborhoods remain snowbound. And although traffic is moving in downtown Roanoke, piles of snow are everywhere, slowing cars and limiting parking.
Virginia Department of Transportation and city crews will continue to work around the clock clearing neighborhood streets.
In the city, higher elevation areas that are blocked are the priority, Public Works Director Bill Clark said. Outside the city, VDOT is concentrating on secondary roads that have seen only a single narrow swipe by plows, spokeswoman Laura Bullock said.
A special crew dedicated solely to clearing downtown streets was expected to continue its work Friday night, Clark said.
The city "did all right," Northwest Roanoke resident Terri Brown said. Still, she hasn't been able to make it up a hill on Long Meadow Avenue since midweek.
"I can't even go home," she said, parked in front of City Hall on Friday. "I haven't been home in a couple of days. Where I live we have a lot of hills. Some streets are all right, but some aren't worth jack."
While the Roanoke Valley avoided dreaded ice storms and power outages, the snow caused significant damage to homes in the valley. Area insurance agents have been swamped with calls.
"We've gotten about 100 claims this week ... from people who have water leaking in from around their guttering and things like that," Nationwide claims secretary Gwen Keiley said.
State Farm fire and casualty claims superintendent Steve Burke said about 150 homeowner claims have been made since Thursday.
"Most of those are a result of snow built up in the gutters," he explained. "When it melts, it gets underneath the shingles and is leaking into people's houses."
Thankfully, the week ahead should see a gradual return to normalcy:
Whether or not schools in the Roanoke Valley and the rest of Western Virginia open on schedule next week depends largely on whether temperatures over the weekend stay warm enough to cause significant melting, school officials said.
Roanoke County and Salem school systems will make the call late Sunday.
Roanoke schools will remain closed Monday for Lee-Jackson-King day; officials will decide Monday afternoon whether to open Tuesday.
But city bus drivers will be called in for a test run Monday to see if buses can negotiate the streets, Superintendent Wayne Harris said.
Meanwhile, workers over the weekend will attempt to clear snow from William Fleming and Patrick Henry high school parking lots and sidewalks.
All three Roanoke Valley jurisdictions say trash collection will resume next week with minor changes.
In Roanoke County, citizens should put their trash out one day late. That will give VDOT crews extra time to clear streets.
Salem trash collection will resume Monday, but trash cans should be placed along the cleared areas.
Roanoke City trash collection will resume Monday on regular schedules. But the city is suspending alley collections, so all residents must bring trash to the curb.
Recycling collections will resume next week for customers on the "B" schedule. Residents on the "A" routes will have to wait until the week of Jan. 22.
Utilities didn't report higher than average consumption of electricity and gas this week. But getting heating oil to thousands of customers remains a problem.
Friday's better-than-expected weather allowed oil delivery companies to catch up on weather-delayed deliveries. But Bill Kirk, president of Fuel Oil and Equipment Co. Inc., said his company is telling customers it may still be up to seven days after they call before tanks are filled.
"We're just completely swamped," Kirk said.
Customers who have automatic fill-up service are the first priority. The company is also trying to help out people in emergency situations, but others are being told frankly that they're "way down the list."
Local hospitals, after being swamped earlier in the week with patients suffering from shoveling-related muscle strains and slip-and-fall injuries, quieted down by Friday.
"I don't have any numbers, but I can tell you it was pretty frantic," said Lucas Snipes, director of Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The staff saw mostly bumps and bruises and occasional broken bones from people falling.
For people suffering simply aches and pains from too much shoveling, physical therapist Bill Mercer of Professional Therapies of Roanoke, Inc., suggests putting ice on sore muscles.
Staff writers Michael Croan, Diane Struzzi and Jan Vertefeuille and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. The late afternoon sun piercesby CNBthrough the clouds Friday in an aerial photograph of Roanoke looking
southwest. Downtown is lower right. color.