Heavy Snow, Patrick
- When
- December 29, 8:30 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Patrick forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.678, -80.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Virginia, December 29, 1997
Moderate to heavy snow developed during the morning hours on the 29th and continued into the evening hours. Snow accumulations were generally in the 5 to 8 inch range.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 7
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
Moderate to heavy snow developed during the morning hours on the 29th and continued into the evening hours. Snow accumulations were generally in the 5 to 8 inch range. Hazardous road conditions resulted in numerous traffic accidents.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Amherst
- When
- December 29, 8:30 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Amherst forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.605, -79.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Bedford
- When
- December 29, 8:30 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Bedford forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.315, -79.524 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Campbell
- When
- December 29, 8:30 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Campbell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.310, -79.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Henry
- When
- December 29, 8:30 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Henry forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.689, -79.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Pittsylvania
- When
- December 29, 8:30 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Pittsylvania forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.704, -79.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Franklin
- When
- December 29, 8:30 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.992, -79.881 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, December 29, 1997
- Winter Storm in Vermont, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in Vermont, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in Alabama, December 29, 1997
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, December 29, 1997
- Coastal Flood and High Wind in New Jersey, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, December 29 to 30, 1997
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, December 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5626247, 5626248, 5626249, 5626250, 5626251, 5626252, 5626253.