THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602180015
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 155 lines
Sunny, blue skies greeted the area Saturday morning, but snow and ice from the latest dose of winter continued to cause problems for motorists, including a series of wrecks on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel that involved about 25 vehicles.
And while temperatures are expected to reach springlike levels by midweek, the calendar cannot be denied - there's still a month of winter to go.
``Usually, I'm one of those people who complains that we don't get enough snow down here in the winter,'' said Dick Reynolds, 41, a 1980 transplant from Wisconsin. ``Well, enough. Enough already.''
Reynolds, who lives in the Kempsville section of Virginia Beach, was one of many people out scraping their driveways Saturday so rising temperatures could melt away a coating of ice under the 4 to 5 inches of snow that fell over South Hampton Roads on Friday afternoon and evening.
The ice - on driveways and streets - formed in part because of a recent spell of warm weather. When the mercury dropped to below freezing Friday afternoon, it was many more hours before the ground and pavement also chilled to freezing. Thus, as the snow fell, it left about an inch of wet slush that was eventually buried in snow and finally froze.
Storm-weary road crews got a break as the warmth of Saturday's bright sun helped melt away the ice and plenty of the newest snowfall. That didn't happen soon enough for some motorists, however.
Roads were icy and slick throughout the region at dawn, and area police departments reported a new surge in accidents after Friday's rash of more than 500 handled by state police alone on area interstates.
As busy roads began to clear Saturday, drivers started hitting their accelerators - and some forgot that wind-swept bridges might not have cleared as fast as the highways.
On the lengthy bridge system of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, a series of wrecks beginning about 7:45 a.m. involved some 25 vehicles within an hour.
Although there were no serious injuries, the mess left the eastbound lanes of Interstate 64 impassable until about 9 a.m. while tow trucks removed the wrecks and state police troopers worked their way through the inevitable paperwork. Tickets were written, but it was unclear how many.
On Friday, most accidents involved single vehicles - cars sliding off roadways or hitting stationary objects - or two-vehicle collisions, said Tammy Van Dame of the state police. But, on Saturday, officers were ``seeing more multivehicle accidents . . . more wrecks with injuries.''
Troopers reported that ``people are following too close and people are traveling at unsafe speeds,'' Van Dame said. ``Just because a sign says the speed limit is 55 mph, that does not mean that is what you should travel under these conditions.''
Friday's snowfall also had its impact on a variety of activities. Schools in Suffolk - to have been open Saturday for a snow makeup day - were closed, as were classes at Norfolk State University, Thomas Nelson Community College and all campuses of Tidewater Community College. Old Dominion University called off most Saturday activities, too.
There was no bus service in James City County; military bases and some businesses told workers to stay home or come in late; wrestling tournaments in Virginia Beach and on the Peninsula were postponed; Chesapeake closed all its libraries; and numerous activities in Virginia Beach and Norfolk were canceled.
And kids - young and old - played.
At the corner of Redgate and Colley avenues in Ghent, five boys wearing thick gloves and winter coats prepared for battle by dividing up snowballs they had stored in a recycling bin.
``We just came out to have a little bit of fun,'' said Jason Mills, 14. Jason and his friend, Robby Nettleton, 12, were preparing to hurl the globs of snow at Byron Browne, Jason Pettitt and Ricky Nettleton, all 13.
``We figured we better take advantage of it,'' Jason said of the snow.
On 36th Street in Norfolk, Jamale McClain, 10, and Marque Eaton, 8, played in their front yards, laughing as a neighbor, snowball in hand, ran down the sidewalk. But Jamale was quick to point out that there's a price to pay for the winter thrills.
``It isn't so fun when we've got to make up all the snow days,'' he said.
Even at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, where the rites of summer are the stock-in-trade, the ``slopes'' of the Old Cavalier Hotel played host to winter thrill-seekers.
But not everyone had the day off to play. In Norfolk's Ghent section, Peter Pittman and Hal Weaver cleaned the windows and swept the steps leading up to Peter's Tentop, an eatery on the corner of Harrington and Colley avenues.
``The weather actually helps our business,'' said Pittman, the Tentop's proprietor. ``We deliver around here and when it snows, nobody wants to leave their house.''
Friday night's snowfall blanketed the state. Suffolk got 4 to 5 inches; Newport News and Hampton got 5 to 7; Williamsburg, 6 to 8; Richmond, 9; Ashland, 10; and King William County, 12. In Northern Virginia, more than a foot was reported.
And while snowfall totals locally are far from approaching any records, records were being set from Virginia to New England after the latest storm.
By Friday night, Lynchburg reported 8.1 inches of snow, which brings its season total to 51.3 inches, breaking a record of 46.7 inches set 100 years ago. Washington's Dulles International Airport reported 7.5 inches, for a total of 52.4 inches, breaking the record of 44.4 inches in 1966-67.
Charlottesville also appears to have broken a record. Before the storm started it was 4.4 inches short of a season record, said state climatologist Patrick Michaels. Unofficial reports set snowfall there from this storm at 8 inches. The old seasonal record is 53.6 inches set in 1961-62.
In Norfolk, 17.3 inches of snow has fallen so far this season. That's well ahead of the annual average of 8.9 inches, but it has a long way to go to challenge the record of 41.9 inches set in the winter of 1979-80, which included the March 1980 blizzard that brought Hampton Roads to a standstill for three days.
Flights were delayed or canceled Friday night and Saturday at Washington National, Dulles and Richmond International airports. Norfolk International was open and ready to handle flights, but some were unable to get through from snowed-in airports in other cities.
The Virginia highway department, which has now spent more than $63 million - $20 million more than budgeted for snow removal this year - said it is ready to take on any additional storms despite having its budget busted.
The January snow cost around $38 million, said Perry C. Cogburn, assistant director of the emergency operations center. February's storm cost about $15 million.
``We do what needs to be done,'' said Transportation Commissioner David Gehr. ``We're not reducing our level of service just because we get another one.''
For a few days, anyway, the forecast is promising.
Today should be mostly sunny, with the high in the upper 30s and northwest winds at 15 to 20 mph, the National Weather Service said Saturday.
Increasing cloudiness is likely Monday with the high in the 30s and the overnight low in the 20s.
Tuesday should bring cloudy skies with a chance of rain. The high is expected to be in the 40s and the low in the 30s. Some snow is possible in central and northern Virginia.
MEMO: Staff writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Byron Browne, 13, hones in on Robby Nettleton in Raleigh Park in
Ghent. ``We just came out to have a little bit of fun,'' said Jason
Mills, one of the hurlers.
Road crews got some relief Saturday as the sun helped melt the ice.
Here, firemen clean sand from a driveway at station 7 at Hampton
Blvd. and 43rd Street.
Photos
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Jim Slade, left, and his son Carroll check their plow as they work
on clearing the Central Fidelity branches in Newport News Friday.
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
A few intrepid souls, such as this person on Main Street in downtown
Norfolk, tried to traverse the wintry terrain Saturday. So far this
season, Norfolk has received 17.3 inches of snow, well ahead of its
annual average of 8.9 inches, but well short of the record of 41.9
inches set in the winter of 1979-80.
With the latest storm, road crews got a small break - the warmth of
Saturday's bright sun helped melt the ice and plenty of the snow.
by CNB