THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 7, 1995 TAG: 9501070226
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Winter's icy hand reached into western sections of Virginia on Friday, but came nowhere close to Hampton Roads.
By late afternoon, sleet, freezing rain and rain extended from just north of Baltimore to Washington and toward Charlottesville. The sleet made roads and walkways slippery in northern and northwestern Virginia, the eastern panhandle of West Virginia and southern Maryland.
State police said Interstate 81 near Staunton and points south were covered with ice and that several accidents had occurred. A quarter-inch of ice had accumulated on the road in several locations in the central Shenandoah Valley.
Anyone planning to travel west or north past Richmond today can expect more of the same.
A winter storm warning was in effect overnight in much of the western part of Virginia, including Clifton Forge, Covington, Staunton, Waynesboro, Bedford, Lynchburg, Winchester, Martinsville, Danville, Roanoke, Salem, Lexington and Harrisonburg, and nearby counties.
A winter weather advisory was posted for Charlottesville, Fairfax, Manassas and Manassas Park and surrounding counties.
``Precipitation will likely fall as a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain this evening,'' said Dewey Walston, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Washington. ``Significant accumulation of ice and snow is possible in the counties under the winter storm warning.''
The mixture of precipitation was expected to change to rain east of the Virginia foothills by this morning as warmer air moves into the area.
As for Hampton Roads, today should bring showers and possibly thunderstorms. The high should be in the lower 60s with southwest winds of 20 mph, shifting to northwest at 15 to 20 mph by late afternoon. The chance of rain is 70 percent.
Skiers planning to head to West Virginia this weekend may find plenty of fresh snow on the slopes - if they get there.
Winter storm and ice storm warnings were in effect overnight in southern West Virginia, with significant accumulations of ice expected. Winter weather and freezing rain advisories were issued for the remainder of West Virginia.
A winter storm was centered over the Tennessee Valley Friday afternoon, and warm, moist air associated with the storm was pushing northward. The moist air was interacting with cold air entrenched over the region. by CNB