Virginia, 1997

Heavy Snow in Virginia, February 8, 1997

February 8, 1997 · NWS LWX · 23 events in 23 counties and zones

A winter storm dumped 4 to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow across all of northern and western Virginia on the 8th. Highest totals were observed above 2500 feet, with other local maxima in the Shenandoah Valley and the western suburbs of Washington, DC.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 19 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$25,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
23

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 LWX wrote it up.

A winter storm dumped 4 to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow across all of northern and western Virginia on the 8th. Highest totals were observed above 2500 feet, with other local maxima in the Shenandoah Valley and the western suburbs of Washington, DC. Antecedent warm weather, combined with air temperatures at or just above freezing during the event, allowed roads to remain generally wet. However, icy spots developed late that afternoon and evening as temperatures fell well below freezing. The snow, which clung to everything, was aesthetically pleasing. However, the weight of the snow snapped numerous tree limbs and knocked others onto utility lines. At the peak of the storm, over 10,000 Virginia Power customers in the Washington metropolitan area alone were without electricity. Otherwise, public impact was minimal since the storm occurred on a Saturday.The storm resulted from the interaction of the subtropical jet stream, which provided a strong energy impulse to aid in lifting relatively warm humid air, with the polar jet stream, which provided enough low-level cold air to maintain wet snow rather than rain.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

23 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Highland

When
February 8, 8:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where
Highland forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Augusta

When
February 8, 8:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Augusta forecast zone
Coordinates
38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Nelson

When
February 8, 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Nelson forecast zone
Coordinates
37.787, -78.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rockingham

When
February 8, 10:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Rockingham forecast zone
Coordinates
38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Shenandoah

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Shenandoah forecast zone
Coordinates
38.858, -78.571 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Frederick

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Frederick forecast zone
Coordinates
39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Page

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Page forecast zone
Coordinates
38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Warren

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Warren forecast zone
Coordinates
38.909, -78.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Clarke

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Clarke forecast zone
Coordinates
39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Albemarle

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Albemarle forecast zone
Coordinates
38.029, -78.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Greene

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Greene forecast zone
Coordinates
38.298, -78.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Madison

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Coordinates
38.414, -78.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rappahannock

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Rappahannock forecast zone
Coordinates
38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Fauquier

When
February 8, 2:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Fauquier forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Loudoun

When
February 8, 2:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Loudoun forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Orange

When
February 8, 2:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Orange forecast zone
Coordinates
38.246, -78.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Culpeper

When
February 8, 2:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Culpeper forecast zone
Coordinates
38.486, -77.956 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Prince William

When
February 8, 2:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Prince William forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Fairfax

When
February 8, 2:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Fairfax forecast zone
Property damage
$15,000
Coordinates
38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Arlington

When
February 8, 4:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Arlington forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Stafford

When
February 8, 4:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Stafford forecast zone
Coordinates
38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Spotsylvania

When
February 8, 4:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Spotsylvania forecast zone
Coordinates
38.244, -77.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, King George

When
February 8, 4:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
King George forecast zone
Coordinates
38.274, -77.156 (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

More

Every storm in Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, February 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: 5590771, 5590772, 5590773, 5590774, 5590775, 5590776, 5590777, 5590778, 5590779, 5590780, 5590781, 5590782, 5590783, 5590784, 5590785, 5590786, 5590787, 5590788, 5590789, 5590790, 5590791, 5590792, 5590793.