ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
``IT'S JANUARY,'' said one realist. "You've got to expect we're going to have wintertime weather." But you can always hop on a plane to warmer climes if the weather gets you down.
A fickle Mother Nature - who sent temperatures soaring into the unseasonable 70s a week ago - on Thursday shoved a mass of sleet and snow into Southwest Virginia and other parts of the state.
It was the type of weather just nasty enough to close schools, slick roads and empty auto parts store shelves of snow chains.
"Most people did see some type of winter weather," said Ken Kostura, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg.
Lexington received 5 inches of snow and sleet, the highest amount in the region, he said. In New River, the amounts varied - anywhere from 2 to 4 inches.
Roanoke Regional Airport got about 2 inches. Elsewhere, amounts tapered off to 1 inch, Kostura said.
You want better weather? Get on a plane, Kostura said. Head for a warmer climate.
"It's January," Kostura said. "You've got to expect we're going to have wintertime weather."
Today's forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-to upper 30s with snow showers possible tonight. That could bring just a dusting or up to a half-inch of snow.
Laura Bullock, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation's Salem District office, said crews planned to continue monitoring main roads and also give attention to subdivision streets and secondary roads.
"The worst-case scenario is that what's left on roads would freeze overnight," she said. "Once it freezes, there's not much a snowplow blade can do besides make it worse. But we'll handle whatever we get."
Interstate 81 in Roanoke and Montgomery counties was rife with accidents Thursday, mostly motorists skidding off the road. Two tractor-trailers ran off I-81 near Ironto about noon. One overturned, but neither accident involved injuries.
"We had a high number of crashes early this morning, then went into a period where it slowed down," said Sgt. Tom Foster, of the Virginia State Police office in Salem. "Then, as road conditions improved slightly, we started experiencing more again. People prematurely started getting back up to high speeds and encountered icy patches and slush in the roadway."
But for all the activity in state police jurisdiction, local police and sheriff's departments had few reports of accidents.
American Electric Power Co., which serves much of Southwest Virginia, reported no outages in the Roanoke and New River valleys. The closest outages were in Fieldale, outside Martinsville, where icy tree branches falling into power lines knocked out power for 100 customers.
The weather may have caused a water line to break near the 4400 block of Delray Avenue in Northwest Roanoke about 5 a.m. Thursday. Utility crews repaired the line within four hours, said Michelle Bono, Roanoke's public information officer.
The city had snow removal crews out as soon as it started snowing, Bono said. By 5 p.m. Thursday, crews had used 500 tons of rock salt.
Roanoke has 3,800 tons of rock salt in stock, three times the amount in past years. The city also has six new spreaders, including four small spreaders that fit onto the backs of pickup trucks to handle narrow city streets.
Part of that is in response to complaints from city residents about poor street-clearing after last year's blizzard.
"We wanted to be better prepared, both with chemicals and equipment," Bono said. "We felt we had the right personnel. We had to have them better equipped."
Trash collection in Roanoke is expected to be on schedule today. In Roanoke County, trash also is to be picked up on schedule. Trash that was scheduled to be picked up Thursday, and was not, will be collected today if weather permits.
Salem had no trash collection Thursday. The city was using its garbage trucks - with snow plows attached - to clear streets instead.
Weather permitting, Salem residents who were scheduled for trash collection Thursday will have it picked up today, as will those scheduled for Friday pickup.
Staff writers Dan Casey, Lisa Garcia, Shannon Harrington and Christina Nuckols contributed to this report. Information also came from The Associated Press.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN STAFF. 1. Icy roads meant lighter trafficby CNBduring the morning rush hour Thursday on Jefferson Street in
Roanoke. 2. Slippery roads posed a hazard (above) for motorists such
as the driver of this vehicle, which ended up in a ditch on I-581
North at the second Hershberger Road exit Thursday morning. 3. Tony
Smith spreads salt (left) on a sidewalk outside the Trigon Blue
Cross Blue Shield offices in Roanoke Thursday morning. 4. This
motorist's license plate sums up the situation precisely. color.