GOVERNOR BOB MCDONNELL HAS DECLARED THE WEEK DECEMBER 5 TO 11...2010 AS WINTER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN VIRGINIA. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES SERVING VIRGINIA...IN COOPERATION WITH THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...WILL SEND PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS EACH DAY THROUGH SATURDAY AT APPROXIMATELY 11 AM. THESE STATEMENTS WILL FOCUS ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF WINTER WEATHER ...AND PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS THE PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE FOR THE UPCOMING WINTER SEASON. TODAY'S TOPIC - HEAVY SNOW. ON DECEMBER 18TH AND 19TH...2009 HEAVY SNOW BEGAN IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AROUND MIDDAY ON THE 18TH AND SNOWS RAPIDLY ACCUMULATED TO WARNING LEVELS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS ACROSS MUCH OF THE COMMONWEALTH. ALL FORMS OF TRAVEL WERE RENDERED EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR SEVERAL DAYS DUE TO THIS STORM...AND NUMEROUS VEHICLE ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED. FINAL SNOW TOTALS RANGED FROM LESS THAN 6 INCHES IN PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND INTERIOR SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA...TO OVER 25 INCHES IN PARTS OF ALLEGHANY...AUGUSTA... HIGHLAND...ROCKBRIDGE...MONTGOMERY...AND BATH COUNTIES. THIS WAS THE BIGGEST SNOWSTORM TO AFFECT WESTERN VIRGINIA SINCE THE JANUARY 6-8...1996 STORM. SEVERAL STATIONS SET DECEMBER SINGLE-STORM SNOWFALL RECORDS FROM THIS STORM INCLUDING ROANOKE AND BLACKSBURG. FOR MOST OF THE LAST 10 WINTERS...TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN NORMAL TO ABOVE NORMAL. WHAT WILL THIS WINTER BRING? THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OUTLOOK FOR THIS WINTER IS CALLING FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH. STORM SYSTEMS INTENSIFYING RAPIDLY ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD DURING THE COLDER MONTHS OF THE YEAR ARE USUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING MOST OF THE HEAVY SNOWS IN VIRGINIA. THESE SYSTEMS...CALLED NOR'EASTERS...CAN ALSO PRODUCE STRONG WINDS WHICH MAY RESULT IN BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AND HUGE SNOW DRIFTS. HEAVY SNOW TENDS TO OCCUR 100 TO 150 MILES TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE TRACK OF THE SURFACE LOW. SNOW AMOUNTS WELL IN EXCESS OF 30 INCHES HAVE OCCURRED WITH NOR'EASTERS IN VIRGINIA. IN ADDITION...STRONG WINDS AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES IN THIS SAME AREA CAN RESULT IN BLIZZARD OR NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...DANGEROUS WIND CHILL VALUES...AND HAVE RESULTED IN SNOW DRIFTS UP TO 12 FEET HIGH. THE EXACT TRACK THE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE TAKES AND HOW MUCH COLD AIR IS IN PLACE AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM...DETERMINES IF AND WHERE HEAVY SNOW WILL OCCUR. GIVEN THAT COLD AIR IS IN PLACE...A SURFACE LOW THAT TRAVELS A HUNDRED MILES OR SO OFF THE COAST CAN PRODUCE SOME SNOW IN THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE STATE...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW CONFINED TO THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE. IF THE SURFACE LOW TRAVELS ALONG THE COAST OR SLIGHTLY INLAND...HEAVY SNOW IS MOST LIKELY IN THE NORTHWESTERN ONE-THIRD OF VIRGINIA. IF THE AMOUNT OF COLD AIR IN PLACE IS MARGINAL FOR SNOW...IT IS POSSIBLE THAT HEAVY WET SNOW COULD OCCUR IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS WITH JUST A COLD RAIN IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. HEAVY SNOW IS CAPABLE OF BRINGING DOWN TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES WHICH MAY RESULT IN POWER OUTAGES. IN RARE INSTANCES...HEAVY SNOW MAY RESULT IN THE COLLAPSE OF ROOFS OF BUILDINGS AND HOMES. IN ADDITION...HEAVY SNOW MAY RESULT IN SNOW COVERED OR ICE COVERED ROADS. THIS TYPICALLY LEADS TO VEHICLE ACCIDENTS AND POTENTIALLY MAJOR TRAFFIC JAMS. IF THERE IS ENOUGH HEAVY SNOW AND/OR WIND... SOME ROADS MAY BE CLOSED AND OTHER ROADS MAY ONLY BE SUCCESSFULLY TRAVERSED BY 4 WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES. THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF HISTORIC SNOWSTORMS IN VIRGINIA. FEBRUARY 14-18 2003 - 7 TO 36 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA (HIGHEST FAR NORTH)...SIGNIFICANT ICE SOUTHERN VIRGINIA. JANUARY 6-7 1996 - 12 TO 30 INCHES OF SNOW IN MUCH OF WESTERN... CENTRAL...AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA. A FEW LOCATIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS RECEIVED OVER 3 FEET OF SNOW. TWENTY FOUR HOUR SNOWFALL RECORDS WERE ESTABLISHED AT ROANOKE AND LYNCHBURG. IN VIRGINIA...THERE WAS ONE FATALITY DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE STORM. IN THE MOUNTAINS... STRONG WINDS ON JANUARY 8TH CREATED SNOW DRIFTS UP TO 10 FEET HIGH. MARCH 12-15 1993 - 20 TO 30 INCHES OF SNOW WITH SOME AMOUNTS OVER 3 FEET IN THE MOUNTAINS. IN THE FOOTHILLS...10 TO 18 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. IN VIRGINIA...THERE WAS ONE FATALITY DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE STORM. IN THE MOUNTAINS...STRONG WINDS UP TO 50 MPH WHIPPED DRIFTS UP TO 12 FEET HIGH AND CREATED NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. FEBRUARY 10-12 1983 - 10 TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW IN A LARGE PORTION OF VIRGINIA WITH UP TO 30 INCHES OF SNOW IN NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE. THE STORM ESTABLISHED 24 HOUR SNOWFALL RECORDS AT ROANOKE... LYNCHBURG...AND RICHMOND. FEBRUARY 18-19 1979 - THIS STORM KNOWN AS "THE PRESIDENTS DAY STORM" DUMPED 6 TO 15 INCHES OF SNOW IN MUCH OF VIRGINIA WITH UP TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW IN NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE. NEARLY 12 INCHES OF SNOW OCCURRED IN RICHMOND WITH 8 INCHES IN NORFOLK. MARCH 5-8 1962 - 10 TO 24 INCHES OF SNOW IN MANY INTERIOR PORTIONS OF VIRGINIA. BEING PREPARED MEANS MAKING GOOD DECISIONS BASED ON INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OUTLOOKS...WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES...OTHER STATEMENTS AND FORECASTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. THE KEY IS TO KNOW WHAT TO DO IN ADVANCE. IF A WINTER STORM LIKE WHAT OCCURRED IN 2009 OR 1993 WAS PREDICTED TO HIT VIRGINIA IN TWO DAYS...WHAT WOULD YOU DO BETWEEN NOW AND THEN THE STORM ARRIVES TO GET READY? YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOOD...WATER AND MEDICATION FOR SEVERAL DAYS. YOU ALSO NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR THE LOSS OF POWER AND/OR HEAT. MORE ON WINTER PREPAREDNESS FOR THE HOME IN FRIDAY'S STATEMENT. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS CAN BE OBTAINED ON-LINE THROUGH THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HOME PAGE AT: WWW.VAEMERGENCY.COM/THREATS/WINTER/INDEX.CFM IN ADDITION...THE READY VIRGINIA WEB SITE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO AID VIRGINIANS IN THEIR OVERALL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: WWW.READYVIRGINIA.GOV...ENGLISH VERSION/ WWW.LISTOVIRGINIA.GOV...SPANISH VERSION/ UP-TO-DATE WEATHER INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON-LINE FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT: WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BLACKSBURG. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS HOME PAGE IS: WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINTER/INDEX.SHTML