Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, February 22, 2001

Low pressure moved from the mid Mississippi Valley into the southern portion of the Mid Atlantic region on the 22nd. This system produced mainly light to moderate snowfall across the region between 9 AM and 10 PM. However, some areas received a brief period of heavy snow at the beginning of the event which created whiteout conditions. Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches. The highest amounts were recorded in the vicinity of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Although the snowfall accumulations were relatively minor, numerous traffic accidents were reported that involved hundreds of vehicles and numerous injuries. During the mid to late morning, several multi-vehicle accidents occurred when heavy snowfall suddenly dropped visibilities to near zero. The largest pileup, one of record proportions for the Mid Atlantic region, occurred in Stafford County at 10:35 AM. A total of 131 vehicles, including 17 tractor trailers and 114 smaller vehicles, collided on southbound Interstate 95 between Quantico and Garrisonville. The accident began when a tractor trailer and a car collided around mile marker 146 when weather conditions suddenly deteriorated. One by one, approaching motorists blinded by the snow plowed into the wreckage. One eyewitness who saw the burst of heavy snow approach said the western sky appeared as "a solid white wall...like a thick fog bank rolling in". As an interesting side note, two HAM radio towers within a few miles of the pileup received a sudden electrical charge when the "wall of white" hit. Disabled cars covered three miles of highway and shut down the interstate for nearly 12 hours. A 50 year old woman in a car was killed, two people were seriously injured, fourteen people suffered moderate injuries, and over 100 people were treated for minor injuries. A local elementary school was turned into an emergency shelter for the hundreds of stranded motorists. Two other major pileups occurred on Interstate 95 within a few minutes of the 131 vehicle wreck. A 50 vehicle crash occurred on the northbound lanes near Masaponax in Spotsylvania County. The accident occurred as motorists crested the top of a hill, hit near zero visibility, and slammed on their breaks. Three people were treated for serious injuries and another 18 suffered minor injuries. The highway remained closed for three hours while the wreckage was cleared. A 30 vehicle pileup occurred on the southbound lanes just north of the Falmouth/Route 17 interchange in Stafford County. As whiteout conditions struck, three cars slid into each other. Within seconds, the minor fender bender turned into a pileup including tractor trailers, cars, trucks, and an empty bus. Three people were injured and the highway was blocked for nearly three hours. Between 9:30 and 9:35 AM, six separate accidents were reported on Interstate 81 in Frederick County. Twenty accidents were reported in the city of Winchester by 3 PM. About 10 Frederick County school buses slid off the road around midday as they tried to take students home from school. A 25 vehicle pileup was reported in Prince William County. Albemarle County police reported over 100 accidents, including a 20 vehicle pileup a few miles east of Charlottesville where 16 people were injured. Loudoun County dispatchers reported 26 significant accidents including 8 collisions that resulted in injuries. At least 12 injury accidents occurred in Alexandria. Four accidents involving 10 or more cars were reported on Interstate 395 in Arlington and Fairfax Counties. Other accidents, too numerous to include, occurred across the remainder of Northern Virginia during this event. Across Virginia, state police officers responded to 1520 crashes, including 16 major accidents which involved a total of 400 vehicles.