Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, January 2 to 3, 1999

An area of low pressure moved from the Ohio Valley to the Eastern Great Lakes on the 2nd, spreading precipitation across the Mid-Atlantic region from midday on the 2nd to early morning on the 3rd. High pressure centered over New England brought a shallow layer of sub-freezing air to locations east of the Appalachian Mountains. Closer to the mountains this layer of cold air was deep enough to allow up to 5 inches of snow to fall. Just east of the West Virginia border, this layer of cold air was shallower, forcing a majority of the precipitation to fall in the form of sleet and freezing rain. Shortly after midnight on the 3rd, a warm front from the Atlantic Ocean moved into Central and Northern Virginia. This front warmed temperatures east of a line from Albemarle to Loudoun County from the upper 20s to the upper 40s in less than 6 hours, turning all freezing precipitation into rain for the remainder of the morning. Locations to the west of the front saw snow, sleet and freezing rain through the entire event. Precipitation amounts ranged from 2 to 3 inches of snow and 1/4 to 1/2 inches of ice accumulation west of a line from Albemarle County to Loudoun County. A trace to 1 inch of snow and 1/4 inch or less of ice accumulated east of this line. The aftermath of this storm included scattered power outages, icy roads, and dense fog. Ice accumulations were blamed for brief power outages to 29,000 customers across Northern Virginia, and 4,500 customers in Albemarle County including Waynesboro and Staunton. Some locations in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where the rapid warmup did not occur, had problems with icy roads for several days after the storm. Schools remained closed in Warren County through the 7th due to poor driving conditions. Hundreds of traffic accidents were reported across the region, including a pickup crash with two injuries just north of the Mauzy exit on Interstate 81 in Rockingham County, and a tractor trailer and car collision that closed southbound I-81 for a brief time near Winchester in Frederick County. The rapid warmup during the early morning on the 3rd also created dense fog across much of Northern Virginia through midday, leading to additional travel problems.