‘It was nice’: Residents embrace region’s first snowfall of the season

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - On Thursday morning, people across Central Virginia woke up to a winter wonderland, marking the region’s first snowfall of the season.

The snow was a welcome sight for residents in Richmond, including Malikah Ali.

“When I seen that, I woke my 5-year-old up because he hasn’t seen no snow all winter,” she said. “He’s been asking when is it going to snow, so he finally got his snow today. It was exciting, it was cool.”

Data from the National Weather Service shows snow totals staying under an inch. In Powhatan, the data shows there was an inch of snow.

VDOT crews were also out in Amelia and portions of Chesterfield and Powhatan to treat roads where snow was starting to accumulate. Slick conditions are addressed with a combination of salt and sand to help with traction for drivers.

NBC12 Meteorologist Rachel Meyers said we would typically see snow earlier in the season, but the La Niña we’re in is bringing warmer temperatures.

“We’ve kind of been on trend with that, seeing those above normal, above average temperatures,” Meyers said. “Last month, January, which is typically climatologically the coldest month of the year, it was eight degrees above normal, above our average.”

Meyers also explained the possibilities for the rest of the season.

“We’ve seen snow in Richmond as late as Easter, as late as April, so we’re not ruling it out in the next couple of months, but we’re definitely trending towards some warmer temperatures,” she said.

Meyers said there’s never been a snowless winter on record, but the lowest amount recorded was back in the winter of 1918. During this time, Meyers said snow totals were barely measurable.

During the winter season from 1944 to 1945, Meyers said the record was just half of an inch of snow.

“We may finish somewhere around there,” said Meyers.

In a statement, VDOT said they started the snow season with more than 641,000 tons of salt, sand, treated abrasives, and more than 1.6 million gallons of liquid calcium chloride and salt brine.

A VDOT spokesperson said this equipment is available for storms, and their usage depends on the type and severity of winter weather. However, the spokesperson also said it’s too early for discussions comparing equipment and resource usage for this season from a statewide perspective.

Information on the equipment statewide for each district can be found here.

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