Snowstorm Spares Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg area residents were spared the worst of a snowstorm which dumped between four and six inches of snow in across eastern Virginia yesterday. Instead, city residents and residents of Fredericksburg's immediate suburbs were treated to persistent, but light snow showers which never quite accumulated on the roadways.

Total accumulations as of last night stood between one and three inches  in Fredericksburg. Local roads were wet and slushy, and patches of black ice made driving a riskier affair than normal. 

Snow began falling in and around the city of Frederiskburg around 10 p.m. on Christmas evening. By the time Sunday morning rolled around, local streets were still passable. Crews with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the City of Fredericksburg had only to spread chemicals, salt and sand to keep the roadways open. 

A drive around local roads yesterday around 2 p.m. found city thoroughfares such as Fall Hill Avenue, Route 3, Route 1 and streets in the historic downtown to be easily passable.  

The winter storm tracked east of I-95, moving south to north along the eastern seaboard. Locally, VDOT Fredericksburg District spokesperson Tina Bundy says that I-95 near Fredericksburg was largely free of snow accumulations except to the south.

"We've been spared the brunt of the storm," said Bundy. "The southern end of our district has been hit pretty hard."

Bundy reported that snow had accumulated on the shoulder of I-95 near Thornburg and the Caroline County line. 

In its arsenal of road clearing apparatus, VDOT says it had more than 2,800 state road crews available statewide to combat dangerous winter weather induced road conditions. 

VDOT road crews work in 12 hour shifts throughout the duration of winter storms and storm cleanup. VDOT's goal for a typical snowstorm is to have all roads passable within 48 hours after a storm ends. 

VDOT says the hardest hit areas by the snow were in the southern and eastern portions of the Middle Peninsular and Northern Neck Region. There, snowfall averaged six inches in accumulations and had crews busy clearing primary routes and high volume secondary routes. 

The storm caused the National Weather Service to issue a winter weather advisory between the hours of 2 a.m. Sunday morning to 2 a.m. Monday morning.