Snowfall Update 2009-2010

Wednesday about 2"-4" of snow fell in Central Virginia on average, with 2.8" recorded at Richmond International Airport. We are now about a foot below the top seasonal snowfall for Richmond, but just to our north, seasonal snowfall records have been blown away by big snowstorms this season. Here are the latest new records for most snowfall in a single Winter season:

Baltimore/Washington International Airport: 79.9" (breaks the previously held record of 62.5" in Winter 1995-96)
Dulles International Airport: 63.5" (breaks the previously held record of 61.9" in Winter 1995-96)
Reagan National Airport: 55.9" (breaks the previously held record of 54.4" in Winter 1898­­-99)

Richmond's seasonal snowfall is now tied with the Winter of 1921-22 at 27.5" for the 12th snowiest Winter on record.
For comparison, here are some of the other snowfalls to date for this Winter. You can see that the Mid-Atlantic cities have seen more snow than parts of New England or the Rockies!
Burlington, VT 68.3"
Caribou, ME 57.0"
Bangor, ME 52.1"
Harrisburg, PA 52.0"
Charleston, WV 42.4"
Denver, CO 41.4"
Newark, NJ 30.4"
Boston, MA 30.1"
Salt Lake City, UT 22.7"
Albany, NY 22.3"
Colorado Springs, CO 20.1"

Snow Showers Linger In Parts Of Virginia

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect through this afternoon for the areas in lavender, for light snow showers lingering in the region. This may lead to an additional inch of accumulation. In the Richmond Metro, there is only a slim chance for a flurry. The areas in white on the map are under a Blizzard Warning for white-out conditions in heavy blowing snow as the nor'easter intensifies and tracks northeast this afternoon.
In most of Central Virginia, snow totals were relatively low, 2"-4" in most cases. But as winds picked up shortly after sunrise, that created blowing snow which significantly reduced visibilities for several hours while the moderate and heavy snow bands tracked through the area.

Winds will remain up from the northwest 25-35 mph, with some higher gusts around 40 mph this afternoon. Even overnight, winds will gust in the 20-30 mph. While these winds remain up, snow on the ground and in the trees from this morning will blow around and can locally reduce visibility. Wind chills will be in the Teens all afternoon.

Snow Ending In Central Virginia

Snow is ending in Central Virginia late Wednesday morning, but continues in the Peninsulas and Southeast Virginia, as well as in north-central Virginia at this time. Winds continue to pick up this morning from the west and northwest, gusting to 35 mph. Wind gusts could climb as high as 45 mph this afternoon, potentially leading to power outages in the area, especially where tree limbs are weighed down by a few inches of fresh snowfall.