An Arctic cold front moved through the region accompanied by a deep negatively titled upper trough from December 17th into the 18th. This brought a period of upslope convective snow showers in discrete bands to the Alleghany Mountains of eastern West Virginia and far southwest Virginia.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
An Arctic cold front moved through the region accompanied by a deep negatively titled upper trough from December 17th into the 18th. This brought a period of upslope convective snow showers in discrete bands to the Alleghany Mountains of eastern West Virginia and far southwest Virginia. Snow only fell for a brief period of time, but it fell heavily in these bands accumulating from two to four inches in less than six hours. Even thundersnow was reported in Tazewell county, Virginia. Snowfall totals were mostly in the one to three inch range. However, the higher elevations of northwestern Greenbrier saw up to six inches of snow in a few spots.
Here are some snowfall totals observed in the eastern West Virginia counties within the Blacksburg County Warning Area (CWA).
Greenbrier (Quinwood) - 6.0 inches,| (Droop Mountain) - 2.0 inches,| (Rainelle) - 2.0 inches,|Mercer (Bluefield) - 0.5 inch,|Monroe (1NNW Maggie) - 4.0 inches,| (1S Sweet Springs) - 4.0 inches,|Summers (Hix) - 1.0 inch.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 17, 4:02 PM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 502 PM EST TUE DEC 17 2013 NCZ002-003-019-VAZ011-013-014-016>018-022>024-032>035-182215- ALLEGHANY NC-SURRY-WILKES-GILES-PULASKI-MONTGOMERY-CARROLL-FLOYD- CRAIG-ROANOKE-BOTETOURT-ROCKBRIDGE-PATRICK-FRANKLIN-BEDFORD-AMHERST- 502 PM EST TUE DEC 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. NCZ004>006-020-VAZ043>047-058-059-182215- STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-YADKIN-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL- APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM-HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE- 502 PM EST TUE DEC 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. NCZ001-018-VAZ007-009-010-012-015-182215- ASHE-WATAUGA-TAZEWELL-SMYTH-BLAND-WYTHE-GRAYSON- 502 PM EST TUE DEC 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT. WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE AT THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. VAZ019-020-WVZ042>045-182215- ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-MERCER-SUMMERS-MONROE-GREENBRIER- 502 PM EST TUE DEC 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SNOW AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS TONIGHT WILL ACCUMULATE 1 TO 3 INCHES. LOWER ELEVATIONS WILL SEE RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW WITH AN INCH OR LESS OF ACCUMULATION IN THE VALLEYS. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED OVERNIGHT. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The West Virginia Department of Highways reported snowfall ranging from 2.0 inches in Rainelle to 6.0 inches in Quinwood.
The West Virginia Department of Highways reported snowfall of around 1.0 inch in the Hix area in the northern part of the county.
The West Virginia Department of Highways reported snowfall of 4.0 inches in the far southeastern and eastern part of the county on the upslope, northern and western facing slopes of Peters Mountain. Four inches of snow was reported both at Maggie and Sweet Springs.
A SkyWarn Spotter observed 1/2 inch of snow in the Bluefield area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, December 2013
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 491185, 491186, 491187, 491188.