Winter Storm — Giles, Virginia

2022-01-16 to 2022-01-17 · Giles, Virginia

Event narrative

Reports from cooperative observers and the public ranged from 4.6 to 5.5 inches of snow across the county, with highest reports coming from Huffman. A few power outages were also reported in the county. Key Impacts: Snow covered roads, power outages, traffic delays.

Wider weather episode

A persistent northeasterly flow prior to the event ensured that there was substantial cold air throughout the atmosphere. A low pressure system tracked through the southern United States and moved north over southwest VA overnight on January 16th through the 17th, spreading snowfall from south to north. As this system was making its way north, the northeasterly flow was displaced, and a layer of warm air was allowed to filter in over the low levels, turning snow over to sleet and freezing rain, especially in southern VA. Shortly after the system passed, high winds compounded issues created by freshly accumulated snow and ice.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1004937. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.