Despite the 6 inches of snow dumped on the Historic Triangle, emergency officials say they received surprisingly few snow-related emergency calls during and after the snowstorm.
Although he could not provide specific numbers for weather-related incidents, Assistant Fire Chief Paul Long said York County has not had any major incidents, save a few nighttime interstate accidents before 10 p.m. Monday.
“Our call volume has been relatively normal for this type of workday,” he said. “We’ve actually been very fortunate — knock on wood — that we haven’t had more weather-related incidents.”
Eric Stone with the Williamsburg Fire Department said the city has not received any snow-related reports since the snow started falling yesterday.
As of 9:45 a.m., James City County had responded to 30 routine calls for service, Assistant Fire Chief Miles Pettengell said in an email.
Six of those calls were for car crashes that resulted in minor injuries.
Across the commonwealth, Virginia State Police responded to 3,363 calls between 4 p.m. Monday and noon Tuesday, with 747 calls coming from Hampton Roads and 283 crashes reported in the area.
Most of the Historic Triangle was spared from power outages during the storm, with less than 50 people without power in Hampton Roads as of Tuesday afternoon.
By 4 p.m., only a few minor patches of ice remained on Interstate 64 between milemarkers 233 and 246 in both directions, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
A tractor-trailer closed all of Interstate 64 East for a few hours after it jackknifed at around 5:45 a.m. Monday at milemarker 224. Both lanes around the James City County-New Kent County line were reopened by 8:30 a.m.
James City County’s Cranstons Mill Pond remains closed due to ice, and secondary roads in James City County are still covered in minor snow or ice.
VDOT said all secondary roads in York County remain in “severe” condition and are covered in deep snow or ice, and citizens should look out for icy conditions on the Coleman Bridge.
There is no information posted on VDOT about road conditions in the City of Williamsburg.
Crews had cleared most of the interstates in Hampton Roads by noon Tuesday. VDOT Spokesperson Susan Clizbe said workers had moved on to clearing the secondary roads in Williamsburg.
“Some sunshine Tuesday helped speed melting, but it is the only day this week the weather forecast is helpful,” she said.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Wakefield are predicting a low of 14 degrees Tuesday night with a high near 34 degrees Wednesday and a chance of snow showers Wednesday night.
Clizbe said the low temperatures would likely cause the roads to refreeze and said equipment trucks would be out on the roads “until the end of the event.”
Citizens are urged to use caution and stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. Clizbe said interstate ramps, bridges, overpasses, hills and curves are especially prone to ice and should be driven on slowly.
VDOT’s real-time traffic-information system is available here.
