The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is prepared for another round of winter weather and road impacts that arrive with the storm. Much like the previous two weekend storms, most of Virginia will see rain and snow on Sunday and motorists should plan their travels around the weather and not drive during the storm.
Now is the time to travel, ahead of the storm and plan to stay put when winter weather begins to fall on Sunday. The cooperation of motorists staying off of the roads during and following the storm is paramount for crews to operate safely and efficiently.
Forecasts indicate that snow is expected over northern and western portions of the commonwealth. Additionally, rain in parts of southeast Virginia may have a brief change over to snow as precipitation ends. Crews in those regions are preparing to treat and plow roads Sunday into Monday as needed.
Crews across the commonwealth were unable to pretreat ahead of this storm due to the weather beginning as rain. Materials would be washed away ahead of the arrival of winter precipitation.
Unlike the last two winter weather events, temperatures are expected to remain dangerously cold into next week meaning roads will likely be more challenging to treat because materials are less effective. Icy conditions will persist creating hazardous driving conditions.
To receive more regional guidance, be sure to follow your local VDOT district for details. VDOT is divided into nine districts, each of which oversees maintenance and construction on the state-maintained highways, bridges and tunnels in its area. Visit VDOT’s Districts webpage for more details in your area.
Before traveling, be sure to check roadway conditions by using VDOT’s free 511 mobile app, which offers information about road conditions, traffic, incidents, construction and congestion as well as access to traffic cameras, weather and more. Information is also available at 511.vdot.virginia.gov or by calling 511 while in Virginia.