Virginia continues to recover from last week’s winter weather, braces for more on the way this week

Virginia faced flash flooding after heavy rain and snowfall the week of Feb. 9, causing evacuations and emergency services to be implemented in several areas of the state.  

Counties across Virgina saw mudslides and rockslides as rising water levels caused the Clinch River to rise to 16 feet by Feb. 15, according to WVTF. As a result of the rising river, around 60 people were evacuated in Tazewell County; an emergency shelter was then created for residents at the Tazewell County fairgrounds.  

Snowfall has also created issues. Authorities claimed to be investigating over 900 traffic incidents Feb. 12 after a major winter storm hit most of the state, according to the New York Times. While it is unknown at this time if all of the reported incidents are due to the estimated foot of snowfall in some areas, almost 100 of the reports included injuries. 

“This is a storm that has touched the western portion of the commonwealth all the way to the eastern side with freezing rain and snow,” Robin Lawson, a spokesperson with the Virginia State Police, said Feb. 12 according to the New York Times.  

Due to the recent weather, 187,723 consumers were out of power as of Feb. 16, according to poweroutage.us. The largest number of those impacted appears to be customers who use Dominion Energy, of which poweroutage.us reported 38,607 of their 2,663,406 customers were without electricity.  

After a brief tornado warning in parts of Central Virginia expired Feb. 16, a severe weather storm warning was issued shortly thereafter until 11:30 a.m. Strong winds were also expected to continue delaying the return of power across the state, as saturated ground and wind gusts could cause treefalls, according to CNN. 

Virginia is bracing for more winter weather in the coming week, with snow expected in much of the state, according to WSET. 

McKinnon is the off-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.