Gov. urges Virginians to stay off roads as snow piles up

Complied from staff, WVEC and wire reports

Winds gusting to more than 50 miles per hour and plunging temperatures are creating "extremely dangerous" conditions in Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell warns.

That was proven this morning when dozens of crashes backed up Interstate 64 on the Peninsula - including a pileup involving 50 to 60 vehicles.

With yet another winter storm pounding northern Virginia, McDonnell urged residents Wednesday to stay inside and off the roads.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has directed most of its resources to snowbound northern Virginia, where a storm threatened to dump 7 to 14 inches of snow in an area that has seen nearly 3 feet of snow in some locations.

Emergency officials said during a teleconference in Richmond that 20 buildings in the state have fallen under the weight of snow.

State Police have responded to hundreds of highway crashes, including more than 25 separate incidents along a stretch of I-64 from Williamsburg to Newport News.

A pileup in whiteout snow conditions involved 50 to 60 vehicles but resulted in only minor injuries on westbound I-64 near the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, the Newport News Fire Department reported.

Rescue workers responded to a 10 a.m. call of a trapped motorist, said Battalion Chief Jay Culpepper. Wrecked vehicles blocked both lanes, with some in ditches or the median. Emergency crews were forced to walk the half-mile length of the pileup, checking on motorists as they went.

There were 29 vehicles in the first grouping, Culpepper said, with subsequent clumps of about 10 vehicles each. No one was trapped and “miraculously,” he said, injuries were minor – no broken bones, and his crews only transported eight to hospitals.

All troopers from South Hampton Roads were sent to the Peninsula to help with the crashes, said Sgt. Michelle Cotten, State Police spokeswoman. Troopers had been called to 60 crashes in Hampton Roads between 8:48 a.m. and 10:55 a.m.

South Hampton Roads was missing most of the snow.

Despite cold temperatures, the region had only rain Tuesday night. Snow fell in downtown Norfolk and other areas by 8 a.m. today. For most areas, temperatures were in the upper 20s to lower 30s.

Snow accumulations over most of the metro area will be minor ranging from just a dusting to about an inch. Farther north for the Peninsula, accumulations from 1 to 3 inches were possible with a few areas seeing higher amounts.

By 10 a.m., a little more than 3,000 Dominion Virginia Power customers were without electricity in Hampton Roads, with most outages reported on the Peninsula, according to the company's Web site. A little more than 1,000 customers were without power by 1 p.m.

A National Weather Service wind advisory will be in effect for the region until 9 p.m. Winds will increase from 25 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 45 mph from the late morning through the evening hours, the advisory said. Wind speeds will gradually decrease Wednesday night. Scattered power outages are possible because of the strong gusts.

A flood warning also was issued for the Blackwater River above Franklin until Friday evening. The river on Wednesday morning was reported at 12.9 feet, slightly above flood stage, according to the weather service. Flood stage is 12 feet. The river is expected to continue to fall to below flood stage by Friday before midnight.

Thursday will bring more sunshine to the region, but chilly temperatures will remain. Highs will only reach 40 degrees through Saturday at Norfolk, it may be slightly warmer inland. Overnight lows are expected to be in the 20s.