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Officials brace for additional powder
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By J.R. Williams - jrwilliams@nvdaily.com
It ain't over until it's over.
Or at least until it melts, and after the most recent storm, the Northern Shenandoah Valley could be looking at snow for quite some time.
Emergency officials and road crews were gearing up Tuesday for another workload. Fire departments and dispatch centers bolstered their manpower as fresh snow began to fall.
Shelters, only recently closed, were reopened to the public. Many school systems extended their closings through the end of the week.
Frederick, Clarke, Shenandoah and Warren counties were included in a winter storm warning set to expire at 4 p.m. today. The National Weather Service in Sterling predicted new accumulations of 6 to 12 inches.
Snowfall was expected to be heavier toward the coast, with about 8-10 inches forecast for Frederick County and up to a foot expected in Washington.
"As you go down the Shenandoah Valley, that's where totals are expected to be lighter," said Stephen Konarik, an NWS forecaster. "Shenandoah County, probably closer to 6 inches."
This one brings wind: Models predict 25-30 mph gusts through the day, Konarik said.
That could be bad news for power companies already dealing with additional power outages caused by heavy tree limbs.
Mark Nitowski, manager of external communications for Allegheny Power, said more than 1,500 mutual aid workers from as far away as Alabama were called in to assist power restoration efforts.
Crews will continue to work in 16-hour shifts around the clock to respond to any new problems, he said. On Tuesday afternoon, efforts were still underway to restore power to customers knocked out by Friday's storm.
"It's been a challenge getting from place to place," Nitowski said. "From our perspective, the worst possible scenario is a wet, heavy storm, and that's what we got."
In cases where trucks cannot drive to the source of a problem, he said, line workers will carry equipment in by hand.
Compared to the thousands who were knocked out over the weekend, only a handful of residents were still without power Tuesday.
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative reported Tuesday afternoon that power had been restored to all its customers. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative said 6,300 members -- 15 percent of its customer base -- did not have power.
Each company warned of the potential for new outages.
Local and state snowplowing operations, already operating beyond their budgets, were preparing for more precipitation. The Virginia Department of Transportation reported crews again were at the ready, saying the expected high winds made travel particularly dangerous. Winchester said it had called in private companies to assist plowing efforts.
On Tuesday, structural engineers were examining a roof collapse at Garber's Ice Cream in Frederick County, according to Emergency Management Specialist Gail Miller.
A warehouse there was unoccupied when its roof collapsed, she said. Crews were working on removing inventory.
An air-handling unit came through the roof of the Daily Grind building at Creekside Station in the Winchester's south end Tuesday afternoon, according to Fire and Rescue Chief Frank Wright. The building has been unoccupied for some time. No injuries were reported.
"Certainly, we secured the gas and the power," Wright said.
Building officials examined other buildings at the shopping center and reported no other problems, he said.
In Woodstock, a 2008 Chevrolet pickup slid through a stop sign at Lora Drive and into a northbound 2001 Ford Ranger on South Main Street around 9:15 a.m., Police Chief Bryan Hutcheson said. There were no charges placed, and a 67-year-old female passenger in the Ford Ranger was transported to Shenandoah Memorial Hospital for minor injuries, he said.
Staff writer Preston Knight contributed to this story.
I can not believe how bad the roads in Front Royal are. Most of the roads have not been plowed since LAST FRIDAY night or early Saturday morning. Even 522 has a 4 inch layer of ice punctuated with holes and bumps reducing traffic to about 10 MPH max (and those are the trucks and SUVs, very few regular cars can get around town, and that was before this latest snow). How are the roads where you all live?
Like every time it snows, the roads are terrible in Front Royal. The roads in Luray, Page Co. and Warren Co. are soooo much better. Front Royal should hire contractors to plow since they obviously can't do the job. They have made the roads more dangerous.
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I agree with you. although I don't live in town, I do most of my shopping there and you cannot drive on the town roads with all the packed snow without messing up your front end alignment unless you drive 5 mph. I went through town last Monday, going to an appointment ans was appauled at the road conditions. The roads outside of town are clear to pavement... they were the day after the storm and my neighborhood road was cleared to the pavement the very day the snow stopped!!! Thanks to VDOT contractors, who were constantly pushing snow out of the way, our road is again clear down to the pavement again! Why can't Front Royal do that???
I agree that the roads were pretty bad, but come on! It was a major snowstorm! On Monday morning, though, while I was out there were more than a "few" regular cars. There were people out in Firebirds for Pete's sake! As far as Front Royal hiring contractors, oh yes, I'd just LOVE to see taxes raised to pay for said contractors! Those big VDOT machines that do the county roads are EXPENSIVE! And here's an idea: if you can't drive more than 5mph without messing up your front end, then drive 5mph! That is what I did! People are complaining about the roads in town, but I had to drive Monday night for a funeral in Frederick, MD on Tuesday and to the burial in Arlington Cemetery, and Front Royal is definitely no worse than any of the towns we drove through on the way! People have become so spoiled! Hello! We haven't had this much snow in YEARS!
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