In advance of the severe weather forecast for Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, Governor Tim Kaine has declared a statewide emergency.
“State disaster response agencies stand ready to help those in need, and this disaster declaration allows us to pre-position certain assets in specific regions where weather could create problems,” Governor Kaine said. “Residents should prepare now by collecting emergency supplies, making plans to communicate with family members and others, and monitoring local weather information and other emergency instructions.”
I hope you guys in NoVA and the Shendoah Valley are going to make out OK.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
As long as people avoid going out, I’m sure everyone will be fine. Here, it is very icy, though it is not apparent at first look; the only visible snow is on the grass and on top of buildings, and there isn’t much. Makes for a nice day off, if not a risk to venture outside.
Damn. And here I was hoping that he’d declared that Virginia had expelled us, and that we’re now on our own . . .
~
I was pretty surprised to see the Fed gov’t shut down early.
As a native Northerner, I can’t help but be amused at the way the citizens of my adopted home state react to winter weather.
Boooooooooooo, I want some snow! Stay safe guys…
Doug – there’s a reason we – or at least I live here: to avoid winter weather 😉
Not to worry, Vivian …. yet. All that we’ve gotten today in Prince William is wet roads that gave me an excuse to spend the day home with the boys.
Not a bad outcome, come to think of it.
And Doug is certainly correct … though I’m scared to death of those who think they can navigate in this weather, but really can’t.
64 got closed down earlier this evening after a 20 car pile on Afton Mountain (about 10-15 miles West of Charlottesville). That stretch of interstate has to be one of the most dangerous in the state, especially in the fog or ice. Some days the fog is so thick that you really cant see much more than a few of feet ahead (if that). As the lines between Charlottesville-Albemarle and SWAC smudge the amount of traffic and danger over there has only increased. I really hope everyone made it out OK.
I got to skip Consumer Behavior!
Campus is a MESS though, some of the sidewalks are worse than the roads.
James, I completely agree with you. I won’t go out when the weather is bad here simply because people have no idea how to operate a vehicle when the road is wet, let alone covered in snow.
And that’s pretty bad, considering I hail from Jersey…
The problem, Doug, is that unlike the North our temperatures are always borderline and instead of the gigantic piles of snow one sees up North there’s always melting and icing. People laugh at Northern Virginians for not being able to handle snow, but an awful lot of Northern Virginians are from the North and Midwest just as you are and they don’t seem to be able to handle it either. I have to admit though, there is a certain weinie factor involved, but I digress.
Beyond the weenie factor, there’s the simple fact that our infrastructure simply can’t handle much more than the occasional dusting. We don’t have well honed ice and snow removal plans, we don’t have much of a salting/plowing fleet, and as individuals, most of us don’t really have the equipment to safely navigate snowy/icy streets. And, given that it happens once, maaybe twice a year, I think it’s a reasonable balance between sunk costs in that infrastructure/a lost day for the region.
Vivian:
As a longtime lurker, I just want to say on this wintry night that your site is informative, thoughtful, and intelligent.
PM – thanks!
Well, down here, so far there’s been some rain. It’s 47 degrees, so I’m not expecting any severe weather. See what happens when you live close to the ocean? 🙂 There was a bit of ice on the lake behind my house yesterday but it’s all gone now.
Talk about how folks drive: when I was in college, one of my buddies was from Alaska and he swore he knew how to drive in the snow. Yeah, right. During the big blizzard we had here, guess who got stuck in snow? Yep, my bud from Alaska 🙄
Sunday night we returned to the Great State of Northern Virginia after a week of Caribbean Cruising with temps in the 80s-90s. Lovely respite. We knew what was coming here, but could not complain too much after meeting folks from Canada & Utah & Minnesota & Michigan who know what winter weather is really like.
Anyway, late yesterday afternoon and last night the roads were nothing but ice. Same this morning. Today, husband and oldest son are hacking and scraping our driveway, tough work. Not too many neighbors out and about. Shoveling snow is one thing, thick ice requires a positive attitude! :0 Later today, we’ll see how VDOT’s coming along on our Fairfax County roads.