Virginia, Carolinas’ coasts get snow, ice
NORFOLK, VA. >> A layer of ice and a blanket of snow covered coastal areas stretching from South Carolina to Virginia on Saturday after a winter weather system brought colder temperatures and precipitation not often seen in the region.
Authorities urged drivers to stay off the roads and highways, which forecasters said are slick and snowpacked in the storm’s aftermath. They also warned of black ice, particularly late Saturday and early today as any snow melting on roads refroze.
“People should not attempt to drive in these conditions,” North Carolina Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette said.
Temperatures were frigid across several Southeast states. Meteorologists said they likely won’t rise above the 30s in Virginia and much of North Carolina during the day and were to drop into the 20s and even teens in some places on Saturday night.
By about 7 a.m. Saturday, the storm had mostly blown off the Atlantic Coast, leaving as much as 6 inches of snow in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, meteorologists said.
Farther south, there was ice in parts of coastal North Carolina. Ice stretched along much of the South Carolina coast as well, although in much smaller amounts.
“There was basically a glaze reported as far south as Charleston,” said Carl Morgan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington. “We’re talking less than a 10th of an inch of freezing rain.”
The snowfall in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina mirrored the forecast of 4-6 inches, said Mike Montefusco, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia. He said Saturday’s cold temperatures would keep the snow from melting at least until today, when temperatures were expected to reach the 40s.
The snow prompted some restaurants along the touristy Virginia Beach oceanfront to close on Saturday. But two eateries, Commune and Prosperity Kitchen, opened their doors in the hopes that people would brave a walk from nearby residential neighborhoods.
“We’ve had storms like this in the past, and either we’re completely dead or superbusy because everyone just wants to get out in the snow and have a fun day,” said Kevin Jamison, who owns both restaurants.