THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512080495
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE AND LARRY BROWN, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
The forecast was right. It did snow. Lots, in fact.
It fell a bit further north than expected, though, blanketing much of Virginia while sparing most of North Carolina - the opposite of what had been forecast.
And more may be on the way.
Southside Hampton Roads saw snow. But, for the most part, it vanished on touchdown.
Not so just a little further inland and to the north, however, where 2 to 4 inches of snow forced schools and city offices to close on the Eastern Shore.
And out west, as much as 13 inches of snow was reported.
``It is beautiful,'' said Frances Brown of Roanoke, where 10 inches fell. ``But it is a surprise.''
Residents of the Roanoke Valley went to bed expecting little more than light snow. ``Last night they said 1 inch,'' said Brown. ``I said no problem.''
Her first hint that something more was in store came at 3 in the morning when she was awakened by an unusually bright light through her windows. She realized it was the reflection of street lights off a field of white.
In Hampton Roads, the wintry mix of precipitation and icy temperatures contributed to a rash of accidents - more than 100 - on local interstates and city streets, police said.
The further inland one went, the more snow was found. In Suffolk and Williamsburg, upwards of 2 inches fell.
This much snow in early December is ``extremely rare'' in Southeast Virginia, said Harry Gerapetritis, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Wakefield. The average snowfall accumulation for the month is less than an inch in Norfolk and 2.3 inches in Richmond.
Many schools across the state canceled classes, and most of those that didn't cancel opened two hours late.
In Richmond, the snowfall was heralded by a huge thunderclap that rumbled for nearly a minute when the temperature suddenly dipped 6 to 8 degrees around 5 a.m.
Kwadwo Twumasi, a convenience store clerk in Richmond, told the Associated Press that the roar rattled his building. ``It was a big boom and a blue flash across the skyline,'' he said, ``and the floor, front windows and the roof shook. Then the snow started falling. I was surprised.''
Melissa Jones, a senior majoring in history and English at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, said she was outdoors when the first snowflakes fell.
``It was pretty nice,'' she said Thursday while writing a paper on Gulliver's Travels. ``You knew it was not going to be anything large. It let you know winter is here.''
Although there was a white blanket in the morning, by noon most had melted, leaving slushy conditions, Jones said.
``Probably at its peak it was not even an inch,'' said Jones, 21.
After the snow moved out late in the morning, clouds cleared from west to east and the sun broke through.
High pressure moved in behind the snow storm, bringing with it some nippy temperatures.
While skies should be sunny today, that will change as a new storm system moves toward the region.
Snow, sleet and rain will cover Virginia again late tonight and through Saturday, the Weather Service said.
In Hampton Roads, a repeat of Thursday's snowfall is unlikely.
Today should be mostly sunny in the morning with increasing high clouds during the afternoon. The high will be in the low 40s.
Tonight should bring mostly cloudy skies with rain developing after midnight and a low in the mid-30s. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent.
Saturday should see rain ending during the afternoon. It will become windy and colder with the high in the upper 40s. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
Annie Kennon of Hampton clears snow off her car Thursday morning.
She says she doesn't particularly care much for snow. Further
inland, she would have had to scrape off even more snow. Experts say
this much snow this early is ``extremely rare'' for this area.
JIM WALKER/
The Virginian-Pilot
Face it. There's just no way to stop snow, if it has a mind to come
down.
Photo
MORT FRYMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Jessie Wesley carries a tree Thursday to set up for sale at Blue
Ridge Evergreen, a Christmas tree lot at North Battlefield Boulevard
and Hollywood Drive in Chesapeake.
by CNB