blizzard | RVAWX.com

Church Hill Storm Observation Summary:
* Place – Time: Church Hill, (1/22 – 1/23/2016)
* Temperature: 26-28, During Event
* Winter Weather Watch/Warning/Advisory: Watch & Warning
* Closings: All local school districts were closed on 1/22, 1-25 thru 1/27, Chesterfield County Government was closed on 1/22 & 1/25-26.
* Predicted Totals: Between 7-14″ before and the morning of the storm.
* Road Conditions: All roads had substantial snow and ice accumulation on them.
* Precipitation Description: Snow and sleet. Snow began around 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM on 1/22. Snow transitioned to sleet around 5:30-6 PM on 1/22. Snow began once again around 7 AM on 1/23.
* Total Precipitation: 12.5″ of snow and sleet (5″ snow to 1.5″ of sleet to 6″ of snow). Measurements ranged from 10-18″ around the block. High winds caused drifting, with snow banks between 2-3′ tall. Sleet provided compaction to the snow depth. 11.4″ of snow was reported at the Richmond airport. This was the 11th highest storm total at the Richmond airport.Locally heavier snow to the north of Richmond.
* Comments: A complex storm system tracked across the country, including a multi-phased low-pressure system that transitioned to a low-pressure system off the North Carolina coast. The low-pressure system then tracked north to the Chesapeake Bay, causing snow in Central Virginia (and as far west as Lynchburg & Charlottesville) to transition to sleet. Heavy sleet and a dry slot occurred the night of 1/22 into 1/23. The morning of 1/23, precipitation redeveloped along a deformation band stretching along I-95 from NC to Washington DC. The snow fell moderate to heavy from 11 AM to 6 PM. Wind gusts from 30-45 MPH (43 MPH at the airport) caused near blizzard conditions during the afternoon. Snow tapered off by 10 PM on 1/23.

Snow impacted Arkansas up to southern New England. This storm was known as “Jonas” by TWC and the Blizzard of 2016 in other news outlets. Impacts in DC to NYC were extreme, where totals exceeded 2′ of snow.

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Weather Event: Blizzard of 1996

Location of Observation: Midlothian, Virginia

Precipitation Type: Heavy Snow

Dates of Observation: January 6-7, 1996

Official Observation/Storm Total from RIC: 11.5″

Synoptic Overview of Storm System: The storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico the morning of the 6th, moved south of Alabama the evening of the 6th, reached Savannah, Georgia the morning of the 7th, Cape Hattaras the evening of the 7th, just east of the Delaware Bay the morning of the 8th, and the southern New England coastal waters the evening of the 8th. This was a classic storm track for heavy snow.

Personal Observations & Memories: Besides the January 2000 snowstorm, some of my best snow memories were created by this storm. I still remember when the first flakes began to fall with this storm system. The air was cold from the onset so all of the snow stuck right away to the grass and pavement. Snowfall intensity remained fairly light through the early afternoon until about nightfall. By the evening, the brunt of the storm was moving into the area. Incredibly heavy snow began falling from sunset until almost 4 AM in the morning. I ventured out with friends in the heavy snowfall, amazed at how quickly the snow piled up. It come as a disappointment later on in the evening when the snow fall began to taper off and change to sleet. If my memory serves me correctly, the sleet lasted for a few hours, compacting the 10-12 inches that had fallen already. Wrap around snow came to the rescue later on the 7th, adding another shot of 6-10 inches on what had already fallen. Unofficial measurements taken by me at the time easily pegged this storm between 18-19″ of snow in Central Chesterfield. it would be a couple days later where a second system left Central Virginia with 3-6″ of more snow on top of what had already fallen.

At the time of this storm, I was 13 years old and in 8th grade. This storm hit metropolitan Richmond not long after school resumed from Winter Break. Schools ended up closing for nearly 2 weeks (8.5 days total, eight full days off with 2 school days with delayed openings) and most of the midterm exams canceled due to the snowfall. As a student, I was elated to have all of my exams cancelled!

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