Richmond fights losing battle against snow, ice as temperatures stay below freezing

A city official said things may not return to normal until at least Friday as conditions remained treacherous across the area. (Photos by Michael Phillips/The Richmonder)

Richmond will take its first tentative steps back to normalcy on Wednesday, with city and county offices opening on a limited basis, even as schools remain out across the region.

(UPDATE: Richmond Public Schools announced it will be out of school Thursday and Friday as well.)

Officials said below-freezing temperatures are making it hard to clear the snow and ice in traditional ways, as plows are largely ineffective against the giant sheets of ice in most residential neighborhoods, and salt stops working when temperatures drop below 20 degrees, as they have each night.

In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Department of Public Works Director Bobby Vincent said most of Richmond’s main roads are in “B+” or “A” condition. The less-travelled neighborhood streets, he said, are a different story.

“They’re pretty much frozen over,” Vincent said.

Richmond’s streets could potentially be back to normal by Friday, Vincent said, but by that time the city might have to start prepping for more snow in the forecast for this weekend.

He said the city is deploying a sand-and-salt mixture to help soften roads when the sun is out.

“The plows are not effective with the ice, but the plows are effective with the slush,” Vincent said.

The city has 75 trucks that officials say are working around the clock to clear roads.

In Henrico, government buildings will reopen and trash pickup will resume on a two-hour delay. Richmond will do the same, but with government buildings opening at noon.

All localities, Chesterfield included, have canceled school for the day.

"While progress is being made to clear areas, extremely icy conditions across Henrico County and frigid temperatures mean we cannot open schools on Wednesday," Henrico said in a statement.

What initially started as snow has frozen into a solid layer of ice on most roads.

The storm's toll

Early notification allowed residents to prepare for an extended period at home.

Virginia State Police said there were 108 car crashes in the area, four with injuries reported, but no fatalities, during the storm.

The lone fatality reported as of Tuesday evening was a 4-year-old boy who fell into an icy lake in Henrico. He was rescued, but was unconscious and later died at the hospital.

Plowing paths

Wednesday could be the biggest test yet of how the area's infrastructure handles the extended snow, as many workplaces and stores reopen even as neighborhood roads show no signs of thawing.

While the storm wasn't as bad on the front end as it could have been, its lingering after-effects have some residents going stir crazy.

Richmond and Henrico released maps showing the priority routes they plowed, which should be largely clear for motorists.

Beyond that, though, conditions remain dicey.

With some sunlight hitting and more chemicals being applied, Vincent said, roads should get clearer over the next few days. The city has about 75 trucks working on the roads, according to DPW.

“They should be able to start pushing on many of our neighborhood and residential streets,” Vincent said.

Bus service slated to resume

After being shut down entirely on Sunday, the Greater Richmond Transit Company planned to resume service on Monday, before changing that decision after drivers evaluated road conditions.

GRTC operated Tuesday with limited routes and drivers. On Wednesday, service will begin at 7 a.m.

So far road conditions have been mixed, with ice lingering on most streets, said spokesperson Ashley Potter. The company’s road supervisors and operations team have been monitoring conditions, and service has been limited and adjusted based on those conditions.

That includes buses having to take “snow routes” – an alternative route of the regular paths – to avoid hazardous streets that have historically proven to be difficult to navigate in inclement weather. That means that drivers may not reach all the stops in the regular route. The company also notes that additional detours may take place depending on conditions.

Route 12 through Shockoe Bottom and Church Hill is taking an alternate route to avoid steep hills that could cause accidents. (GRTC)

More snow soon?

While some forecasts are showing snow over the weekend, it's still way too early to make definitive predictions, according to forecasters.

Early projections show the storm developing off the Eastern Shore. The European forecasting model, which has been more accurate so far this winter, shows the storm stalling short of the Richmond area while dumping precipitation on Tidewater.

Whether snow arrives or not, temperatures will remain low, which will create an extended need for caution.

Vincent, the DPW director, encouraged residents to drive cautiously no matter what type of road they’re on.

“We want people to be careful,” he said. “Just take your time and drive slow.”

Richmonder reporters Graham Moomaw, Michael Phillips, Victoria A. Ifatusin and Sarah Vogelsong contributed to this report.