Yes Charlottesville – It is Supposed to Snow

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Jim
Update 2 February: 40 inches debunked clarified. I grew tired of hearing the 40 inches rumor, so I emailed Lou Hatter, the media contact for VDOT’s Culpeper District. Not only did Lou respond within a couple hours, he responded late at night; consider me appreciative. Bolding is mine.

VDOT is preparing for the possibility of a significant winter storm this weekend. Any story that we are “expecting” 40-50 inches of snow is incorrect. We are carefully watching the weather forecasts, as I’m sure most people in the area are, and are preparing our operational plans based on those forecasts. As we get closer to the weekend we’ll have a better idea of the timing of the storm, type of precipitation and likely accumulations and we will adjust those plans accordingly.

Update 4 February: Now we’re expecting 20-28 inches. Buckle up!

Local Interactive Weather Map for Charlottesville, VA (22901) - weather.com-1.jpg
Update 5pm 2 February. It’s snowing everywhere, and starting to stick. In fact, I hear sirens in Crozet now.
RealCentralVA » RealCentralVA.com.jpg

Again.

CBS19Weather says – @JimDuncan Some models are indicating 12-18″; that is of course preliminary & subject to change. Our prediction comes closer to time (tk)

and:

WINTER STORM WARNING until early Wednesday for: Albemarle, Nelson, Greene, Madison, Orange & Culpeper Cos. (tk)

I’ve heard we’re supposed to get 2-4 inches tonight, and rumors say this weekend anywhere from 12 to 40 inches of snow in the Charlottesville area. 40!

Friday “could get ugly.“

If we get 40 inches of snow in Charlottesville, I don’t know what we’ll do, other than make Jay jealous.

Update 2 February 2010: @CBS19Weather says:  

@Jenna_WennaMJ has potential to be significant…don’t think we’ll see anything as severe as 2 ft. still definitely one tow atch! – Brantley   



Woo-hoo!

And …for those of you who are curious about the difference between a weather warning and a weather watch:


CBS19Weather: @JimDuncan warning means it’s occurring or is imminent…a watch means that we’re on the lookout…i like your definitions though! Brantley

From the Daily Progress:

Officials warn that today’s snowfall is only a precursor to this weekend’s predicted winter storm that could bring up to an inch or more of freezing rain or sleet plus five or more inches of snow. Other models are predicting more than 20 inches of snow in the weekend’s 36-hour period.

“It’s a doozy,” said Jerry Stenger, University of Virginia climatologist. “There’s a lot of water connected with it and, if it all comes down as snow, we’ll be measuring it in feet again.”

Waldo offers these calming words:

I don’t want to alarm you, but between the snow on the ground, the snow tonight, and 2 feet of snow this weekend, WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE.

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  • http://runningbecauseican.wordpress.com David H.

    I found this blog by doing a search for Virginia snow rumors since this weekend’s predictions are all over the place. Great job capturing everything. I heard from a friend of a friend who works for VDOT that they were told to prepare for 30 inches. Just spreading the rumors that I’ve heard …

    • http://realcentralva.com Jim

      Thanks, David.

      Pretty much every rumor I hear relating to snow in excess of 20 inches of snow starts with “someone at VDOT says …” or “VDOT is preparing for 40 inches …” but I haven’t been able to source that anywhere yet.

      • http://runningbecauseican.wordpress.com David H.

        Yeah, I also saw something about “my pastor knows someone at the NWS” who said the same thing. It’s 3rd or 4th sources, but they all say the same thing. I know that the NWS has to prepare for the worst and let VDOT know what could happen and hope that the worst doesn’t come true. Either way, it’s a big event. I’d rather have all snow, even if it is 2 feet, instead of having ice mixed in.

  • TrvlnMn

    I’m glad to see that I’m not the only person tired of the rumors. So and so saw it on such and such “weather cast”. I’m sick to death of snow. I’ve never wanted a 4wD (crappy gas milage and all that) but after this year- if it only ever sits in the driveway taking up space- I think a used one will be on my shopping list next time gas prices get up to 4 dollars a gallon.

  • http://www.dougfrancis.com Doug Francis

    For a second there I thought I was reading the Weather Channel Blog.

    I can’t believe that some guy from Minnesota hasn’t commented about 60″ storms!

  • http://realcentralva.com Jim Duncan

    Doug – the snowpocalypse here in Charlottesville is big new. BIG. :)

    Believe it or not, I occasionally get questions from potential clients about natural disasters in the Charlottesville area – fires, landslides, earthquakes, snowstorms … (we get one of each from time to time) :)

  • http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com Jay Thompson

    I’m not a meteorologist, but I’m comfortable predicting our snowfall this winter will be a total accumulation of zero inches.

    You people need to buy winter homes in Phoenix… ;)

    Stay warm, be safe!

  • Caroline

    Just look at http://www.weather.com. Currently they expect 20 to 28 inches…..(in Charlottesville)

  • Dave

    I thought 40″ was the average yearly snowfall for Charlottesville, rather than a single event. We have probably been below this average for the past decade, but apparently we’ll be back on course after this event and even making up for past slack years.