For background, see previous story: “Winter storm expected to deliver messy mix Sunday and Monday.”
UPDATE 5 PM, 1/5/2025:
The first snow band has lifted mainly north of the U.S. 460 corridor after dropping 1-5 inches on many locations in Southwest and Southside Virginia this afternoon.
For some locations in Southside, it was the first measurable snow in 22 months or longer.
Additional precipitation in eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia will spread eastward during the evening and then overnight. The next wave of this will be a snow-sleet mix across the New River and Roanoke valleys during the early evening, then eastward and northward, but later waves overnight will mostly be freezing rain mixed with some sleet over a larger portion of Cardinal News’ coverage area.
Icing from freezing rain may collect 0.1 to 0.3 inch of glaze on trees and power lines overnight in much of Southwest and Southside Virginia, posing the risk of scattered power outages. Snow cover will help hold temperatures below freezing in many areas, raising the risk of ice accumulation. More sleet mixing in can reduce ice accumulations but will add to slick road conditions.
Northern Virginia will see mostly snow with 4 or more inches over most of the state north of Interstate 64.
Additional periods of freezing rain, sleet, snow, and rain are expected on Monday.
END UPDATE
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UPDATE 1:30PM, 1/5/2025
Snow has spread rapidly across Southwest Virginia, as much as 3 hours ahead of previous forecasts, and the initial band of snowfall appears to be wider and heavier than modeled.
Snow was already accumulating rapidly in much of Southwest Virginia along and west of the Blue Ridge south of Roanoke and starting to move into the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area shortly after 1 p.m. on this Sunday. Snow is likely to overspread the Roanoke Valley in the next couple of hours and perhaps even as far east as Smith Mountain Lake and Lynchburg by 4 p.m. or so. Southside areas around Martinsville and Danville also appear likely to get a harder initial hit of snow than first projected, possibly mixed briefly with rain as it begins.
Widespread snowfall of 2-4 inches appears likely this afternoon across most of Southwest and Southside Virginia with some heavier amounts possible.
Freezing rain and sleet are expected to develop later tonight atop the snow. Travel will become treacherous rapidly as snow continues to spread across much of Virginia this afternoon and becomes mixed precipitation in many parts of the state this evening and overnight.
END UPDATE
Winter storm warnings now cover the entire state of Virginia except a few counties in Southside Viginia east to Hampton Roads and a few others in Souhwest Virginia west of Interstate 77 along the Tennessee state line, which are all covered by winter weather advisories for somewhat less expected total impact of snow, sleet and freezing rain.
In the winter storm warning areas, impacts will vary from expected 4 or more inches of snow along and north of an east-west line through Charlottesville, 1-4 inches of snow and sleet with a tenth to three-tenths of an inch of glaze ice from freezing rain southward to near the U.S. 460 corridor (Blacksburg-Roanoke-Lynchburg-Richmond) and generally less than 1 inch of snow/sleet with light icing to the south of the U.S. 460 corridor to the state line. Some areas along and just west of the Blue Ridge south of Roanoke and Blacksburg are likely to see a little more snow and icing than most of the southern third of Virginia will.
The map above from the National Weather Service shows expected onset times of precipitation across the state. This is generally expected to be snow at first, but changing to sleet, freezing rain and cold plain rain from the southwest and south as milder air flows in aloft. Some sleet and freezing rain may mix in with snow even in the northern half of the state except perhaps a few northernmost counties. Southern rim counties are most likely to warm just above freezing for plain rain but a few other spots in the southern half of Virginia may barely nudge to 33 or 34 by Monday morning.
In between the snowy northern tip and cold, rainy southern border region area is the most confusing and concerning zone, where some places may get enough ice to sag trees and power lines in addition to any icy road issues. Conditions may vary significantly in short distances with topography effects and minor temperature fluctuations.
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Precipitation will become patchier and gradually end from west to east on Monday, and many locations in the southern half of the state that haven’t already will rise above the freezing mark. A band of light snow may develop on the backside of the storm by Monday afternoon and evening, but any additional amounts are expected to be light.
Cold temperatures are expected in the week ahead with some single digits to lower teens lows by Wednesday and Thursday. Another storm system may bring wintry precipitation by Friday and Saturday.
Journalist Kevin Myatt has been writing about weather for 20 years. His weekly column, appearing on Wednesdays, is sponsored by Oakey’s, a family-run, locally-owned funeral home with locations throughout the Roanoke Valley. Sign up for his weekly newsletter: