Several auto accidents were reported across the Piedmont of Virginia into the New River Valley as a weak wedge of high pressure allowed temperatures across much of the area to fall into the low 30s and upper 20s. An upper trough approaching from the west drew warm moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northward along the Appalachian chain to overrun the colder air at the surface.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Several auto accidents were reported across the Piedmont of Virginia into the New River Valley as a weak wedge of high pressure allowed temperatures across much of the area to fall into the low 30s and upper 20s. An upper trough approaching from the west drew warm moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northward along the Appalachian chain to overrun the colder air at the surface. This resulted in a light freezing rain event across much of the forecast region. Because of very cold temperatures just before the event, the ground was very cold, which allowed the ice to adhere to roadway surfaces.
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 Jan 9, 7:39 PM EST, 4 hours 21 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Light amounts of freezing rain resulted in slick road surfaces which led to several minor auto accidents around the communities of Fort Chiswell and Austinville.
Light amounts of freezing rain resulted in slick road surfaces which led to several minor auto accidents around the communities of Shawsville and Ellison.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, January 2014
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: 498164, 498165.