Heavy Snow in Virginia, January 12, 1996

Less than one week after the crippling "Blizzard of '96", a new winter storm dumped substantial snow across northern and western Virginia. The snow changed to freezing rain and sleet along the tidal Potomac River shortly before tapering off. The changeover suppressed accumulations to 4 or 5 inches in this region. In other portions of northern Virginia, snowfall totals were as follows: In the Shenandoah Valley, 4 to 6 inches; in the piedmont, 5 to 7 inches; at higher elevations, 6 to 10 inches.The storm developed as an area of low pressure in the midwest, which became an elongated trough extending from the Tennessee Valley through southeastern North Carolina. As the upper-level trough approached, the North Carolina low became dominant, intensifying slowly as it moved through the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, then off the Delaware coast by late afternoon. Unlike the "Blizzard of '96", a lack of cold air behind the surface low, cominbed with the fact that the upper-level trough was significantly weaker and more progressive, kept the surface low from rapidly intensifying. Nonetheless, the northern Virginia region received some of the highest snow totals in the East.Travel was hampered yet again, but by evening most main arteries were cleared. A DC-9 slid off the runway at IAD at 0915EST, causing inconvenience to the 30 passengers on board but no damage. Most local, state, and federal offices closed. Nearly all school districts in northern Virginia remained closed for a fifth day, providing school children an extra week of winter vacation. However, the week of storms and clean-up also wiped out their allotment of snow days.The weight of the snow from all three events during the week of January 7th through 13th caused several related problems. The worst damage was reported in Montpelier (VAZ050) between the 13th and 14th, when a large horse stable sustained substantial roof damage. Damage was estimated at $250,000. Damage was also reported at a Winchester (VAZ028) strip mall, where a sagging roof forced the evacuation of over a dozen children from a day care center on the 13th. In Sterling, a shopping center lost a 10x12 section of walkway covering.In southern Stafford Co (VAZ055), a woman was injured when a carport collapsed. Luckily, she was protected from serious injury by the automobile, which had its windows shattered. Portions of the roof at Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge (VAZ052) continued on the verge of collapse, forcing the mall's closure on the 13th. A nearby grocery store was evacuated for similar reasons. Lastly, numerous homes had their gutters ripped off by "ice dams", which also caused interior leaks during the week following the event.