Area roads were caked with snow and ice Wednesday morning. (Gregory Connolly/WYDaily)
School is canceled and events are postponed after a winter storm dumped a few inches of snow across the Historic Triangle.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has been working around the clock to salt and sand interstates and primary roads. According to the traffic camera system, Interstate 64 is clear through the Historic Triangle, with delays beginning on the eastbound lanes in Newport News around J. Clyde Morris Boulevard (exit 258). The road clears out again around Hampton Roads Center Parkway (exit 261).
VDOT is reporting moderate snow and ice on many Historic Triangle roads, including Route 143, Route 199, Richmond Road, John Tyler Highway, George Washington Memorial Highway (Route 17), Victory Boulevard, Denbigh Boulevard and Fort Eustis Boulevard. Roads that appear to be clear and wet may have black ice due to low temperatures overnight, so motorists are advised to delay travel if possible.
Check out VDOT’s real-time traffic website by clicking here. Call 511 or 361-3016 or tune into Highway Advisory Radio at 1680 AM for information on traffic.
Fire and EMS crews in the Historic Triangle did not see a spike in activity due to the weather.
James City County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bob Ryalls said his department responded to 48 calls for service from Tuesday through Wednesday morning. He said many of those calls were non-emergency calls, such as fender benders or vehicles sliding into a ditch.
“We were very lucky,” Ryalls said.
Williamsburg Fire Department Spokesperson Eric Stone said his department did not respond to any calls for service related to the weather.
Assistant Chief Paul Long of the York County Division of Fire and Life Safety said units from his department didn’t see any “significant increase” in activity due to weather conditions.
According to Dominion Virginia Power, the lights are on across the Historic Triangle. The nearest reported power outages are in Newport News and Gloucester County.
The storm is gone now and there is no precipitation in sight, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service. The next several days will alternate between partly cloud and partly sunny, with Saturday as the first day with a high above freezing, at 42. On Wednesday, the high will be 22 with wind chill values as low as zero. A wind chill advisory is in effect until noon Wednesday.
For a full list of closures and delays due to the storm, click here.
Have you taken photos of the storm and its aftermath? We’d love to see them. Email your photos to wyd@wydaily.com.