Heavy Snow, Rockbridge
- When
- January 8, 11:30 PM EST to January 9, 8:30 AM EST
- Where
- Rockbridge forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.774, -79.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Virginia, January 8 to 9, 1997
Snow developed across west-central Virginia during the late evening hours on the 8th. The snow mixed with sleet before ending during the morning hours on the 8th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
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.
Snow developed across west-central Virginia during the late evening hours on the 8th. The snow mixed with sleet before ending during the morning hours on the 8th. Snow accumulations ranged from 4 to 5 inches in Rockbridge County. Slippery road conditions resulted in several traffic accidents.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Cold in Montana, January 8 to 10, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Missouri, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Winter Storm in Arkansas, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Winter Storm in Missouri, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Ice Storm in Georgia, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Winter Storm in Kentucky, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Sleet in North Carolina, January 8, 1997
- Winter Storm in Illinois, January 8 to 9, 1997
- Ice Storm in West Virginia, January 8 to 9, 1997
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, January 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: 5588450.