VDOT battling snow, winds as crews clear Virginia roads

For more information on winter travel, visit http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/snow.asp.

In declaring a state of emergency, the governor authorizes state agencies to identify and position resources for quick response anywhere they are needed in Virginia.

Walker says the trucks will focus on primary roads during the storm, then move on to secondary routes.

The National Weather Service says the watch area stretches from Fredericksburg to the Washington, D.C. suburbs.

Winter Storm Warnings were scheduled to be in effect by Friday morning for every county in West Virginia except for Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshall Counties in the Northern Panhandle. Transportation Secretary, VDOT’s Aubrey Layne states that VDOT is well prepared with crews, material and equipment to prepare the roads ahead of time, as well as throughout the storm.

So, I asked Kelly Hannon at the Virginia Department of Transportation what happened that left so many commuters stranded out there.

We are treating Interstate 95 again today with salt brine anti-icing solution, and we will apply brine to primary roads and high-volume secondary roads that we did not reach on Wednesday. Crews are now focusing their efforts on roads that carry the most traffic. Those areas could get up to 2 feet of snow along with strong winds and whiteout conditions on Friday night and Saturday.

The House of Delegates began a very brief session just after 9 a.m. Friday.

Appalachian Power is securing 750 line workers and another 100 damage assessment specialists from outside the company’s service area to assist with service restoration.

“Probably one of the largest challenges in this storm is you’re going to see a heavy, wet snow which is comparable to what we saw during (Superstorm) Sandy, although probably not to the extent”, said Jimmy Gianato, director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The trooper was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Emergency officials say there will be the possibility of widespread power outages.

Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler agrees with the advice to stay off the roads.

A BP gas station in suburban Chesterfield County was empty of customers though a clerk said there’d been brisk business Thursday on modern-day essentials – soda, cigarettes, gas, milk – as well as firewood.

After a full week of blizzard warnings, residents rushed to stock up on essentials before the storm. Winds will be increasing from 10-15 miles per hour to 15-25 miles per hour Friday night into Saturday, with visibility to below one-quarter of a mile in periods of heavier snow.

The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center warns of heavy, “perhaps crippling” snow across the northern mid-Atlantic region, including Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia, probably beginning Friday.

As Virginia prepares for an expected winter storm event, Governor Terry McAuliffe’s declaration of a state of emergency has triggered Virginia’s anti-price gouging statutes created to protect consumers from paying exorbitant prices for necessities during an emergency.