Refreeze and Snow Threaten Monday Night Travel in the Shenandoah Valley

STAUNTON –  (4:30 p.m.) A winter weather advisory remains in effect in the Shenandoah Valley region on Monday, January 15 into the morning of Tuesday, January 16. Many Valley roads have been plowed and treated, leaving a wet surface, which will be subject to refreezing during the night. Snow showers are forecasted for tonight bringing additional accumulation to roads, especially untreated surfaces. The safest plan is not to travel during winter weather conditions.

If travel is necessary, know the road conditions in your current location as well as the conditions along your route and at your destination. Rapidly changing road conditions are possible as precipitation amounts vary across Virginia. Current conditions can be found on https://www.511virginia.org/.   Always buckle up when traveling.

Virginia Department of Transportation Staunton District crews have been out since midnight on Monday and worked throughout the day. Crews will continue with 12-hour shifts tonight and into Tuesday as they plow and treat roads as needed.

Road-clearing priorities are as follows: 

• The Interstate Highway System and limited-access roadways are our first priority.
• Primary roads and major secondary roads with vital emergency and public facilities, or those with high-traffic volumes, will be cleared along with interstate and limited-access roadways as resources allow.
• Low-volume secondary roads and subdivision streets will be treated after higher-priority routes are completed and additional resources are available.

Here are the road conditions as of 4:30 p.m. in the Virginia Department of Transportation Staunton District:

Interstate 64 – Minor conditions in Alleghany County.  Clear conditions in Rockbridge and Augusta counties.

Interstate 66 –  Clear conditions in Warren County.

Interstate 81 – Clear conditions in Rockbridge, Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Frederick counties.

Primary roads – Moderate conditions in Highland County. Minor conditions in Bath, Alleghany, Rockbridge, Rockingham and Page counties.  Clear conditions in Augusta, Shenandoah, Frederick, Warren and Clarke counties.

Secondary roads – Moderate conditions in Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Frederick and Page counties.  Minor conditions in Bath, Alleghany, Rockbridge, Warren and Clarke counties.

For a text listing of winter weather road conditions go to the http://www.511Virginia.org website, look at the orange bar on the top of the page and click on “Text Views” and then click on “Road Condition Table”. Look at the pull down box that lists all jurisdictions.  In this box individual counties can be chosen to view.

The VDOT Customer Service Center can be accessed through its mobile friendly website at https://my.vdot.virginia.gov/. Agents are on site 24/7 every day of the year to assist the public. People can also call the VDOT Customer Service Center at 800-FOR- ROAD (800-367-7623).

The Staunton District X (Twitter) feed is at @VaDOTStaunton. The VDOT Staunton District has a group page on Facebook. Follow VDOT statewide accounts on Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube.

VDOT statewide X feeds can be found at @VaDOT. The nine districts can be found at: Hampton Roads @VaDOTHR; Richmond @VaDOTRVA; Northern Virginia @VaDOTNOVA; Fredericksburg @VaDOTFred; Culpeper @VaDOTCulp; Lynchburg @VaDOTLynchburg; Bristol @VaDOTBristol; Salem @VaDOTSalem; and Staunton @VaDOTStaunton.

The VDOT website is www.vdot.virginia.gov and includes a weather safety page.

The VDOT Staunton District serves Frederick, Shenandoah, Clarke, Warren, Page, Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, Alleghany and Bath counties.

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Road condition definitions:
Severe – drifting or partially blocked road.  
Moderate – snow or ice on major portions of the roadway.  
Minor – bare pavement except for isolated spots of snow, ice or slush. 

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