Seasonal Snowfall Records

Seasonal snowfall records are listed below for each of the 5 climate sites within the Blacksburg area of responsibility. Each of the climate sites has varying periods of record. Lynchburg has the longest period of record, dating back to 1893. Note that the winter season of 1995 to 1996 brought the record highest snowfall to 3 of the sites, ( Lynchburg, Blacksburg and Bluefield), and is in the top 3 highest for the whole area. One storm, which lasted nearly 3 days from the 6 th through the 8 th of January, 1996, brought 2 feet or more of snowfall to the area and accounted for nearly half of the seasonal snowfall in 1995 to 1996.

If you are in your mid 40s or older and lived in the area in the 60s, you may have the idea that winters used to have more snow here. One of the most noticeable things in the data is that the decade of the 1960s must have had unusually heavy amounts of snow. The 1960s account for 6 of the 10 highest snowfall seasons at Roanoke and Danville, 5 at Lynchburg, and 4 at Blacksburg. In contrast, the records at Bluefield would indicate that the decade of the 1970s was at least as snowy as the 60s, with 3 of the top ten seasonal snowfalls in the 70s, and just 2 in the 60s. Since Bluefield is on the northwest side of the Appalachian Mountains, it tends to get heavy snowfall from different weather patterns than the other 5 climate sites.

Looking at the top 10 lowest seasonal snowfalls, it's apparent that seasonal totals less than 10 inches are not that unusual east of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Roanoke, Lynchburg and especially Danville. However, it's interesting to note that Roanoke and Lynchburg have never been shut out for a season, and even Danville usually records at least a minimal amount of snow. Further west at Blacksburg and especially Bluefield, the lowest seasonal snowfalls are higher. Most seasons Blacksburg will see at least 6 inches of snow, and Bluefield will see at least a foot of snow.

Roanoke Top 10 Seasonal Snowfalls 1948 - 2005