One of this region’s most extreme snowstorms struck 25 years ago on Jan. 6-8, 1996.
The storm was remarkable in that every corner of Virginia saw heavy snow, with a wide swath of 1 to 3 foot totals across the mountains and Piedmont. It left a deep blanket as far south as the Smoky Mountains and as far north as New England. Freezing rain and power outages added to the misery near the coast.
Strong winds blew the snow into 5-to-10 foot drifts in western and northern sections of the state, and drove visibility down to near-blizzard conditions. (It did qualify as a blizzard elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic, hence the name "Blizzard of '96")
Big Meadows, Madison County, had a snow depth of 47 inches which set a record for Virginia that still stands.
According to the NWS, the overall toll across the Eastern Seaboard: at least 60 fatalities, including 18 in Virginia and 6 in North Carolina, $500 million in insured losses (in 1996 money), collapsed roofs and countless accidents and stranded cars on roads.
Due to an impressive amount of advance notice in the forecast, VDOT was able to start preparing four days before the storm. But the enormous volume of snow caused travel and business to halt for at least a few days, and up to a week in some areas.
Snowfall totals
Richmond area
Richmond lies in a blanket of snow from this past weekend's storm. Dubbed the 'Blizzard of 96' the storm left as much as 18 inches of the white stuff in surrounding areas. Another storm - touted as weaker and with less snow accumulation - is supposed to hit the area late Thursday or Friday. These are row homes south of the downtown expressway near Byrd Park.
Richmond area
Richmond lies in a blanket of snow from this past weekend's storm. Dubbed the 'Blizzard of 96' the storm left as much as 18 inches of the white stuff in surrounding areas. Another storm - touted as weaker and with less snow accumulation - is supposed to hit the area late Thursday or Friday.
Richmond area
Rusty Davis of Mechanicsville brushes snow off the roof of Cavalier International on Route 1 in Ashland while being secured by a rope guided by owner Gene Rose of Glen Allen. The other end of the rope was secured to a tractor on the other side of the building.
Richmond area
Rusty Davis of Mechanicsville brushes snow off the roof of Cavalier International on Route 1 in Ashland while being secured by a rope guided by owner Gene Rose of Glen Allen. The other end of the rope was secured to a tractor on the other side of the building.
Richmond area
Joe Renner, a salesman at Mechanicsville Toyota has his work cut out for him as he brushes snow off cars on the dealership lot Saturday 1/13. Renner said business was surprisingly good through the storm, with interest running especially high in -- guess what -- four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Richmond area
Ashland resident Bruce Torrence walks S. James St. pushing his son, Robert, 2, along to enjoy the scenery on a winter's day.
Richmond area
Several days ago, the domed covering of the VCU tennis courts on Cary Street collapsed due to the weight of the snow we had this past weekend.
Richmond area
RED SKY AT MORNING ... Dawn breaks on a trio of icicles hanging from a roof in Richmond, VA on Tuesday, 1/9/96, as the city, hit by a major snowstorm over the weekend, faces more snow in the forecast.
Richmond area
Icicles formed over a Richmond sign at the Richmond Visitors Center by the Diamond. The Visitors Center was closed at 11am.
Richmond area
This city owned snow plow truck was photographed at the 5500 block Forest Hill Ave.
Richmond area
Jason Freedlander,13, of Mechanicsville stands up in his sled as he slides down the hill near the fire station in Mechanicsville Monday 1/8/96. Looking on is Brandon Rice, 15.
Richmond area
Brandon Rice, 15, of Mechanicsville takes advantage of the steep hill beside the fire station in Mechanicsville to display his skills in downhill sledding.
Richmond area
Eight-year-old Manman Watkins snatches the hat off the head of his older brother, Steve, 9, as the two played in the 3000 block of Ellwood as the snow started falling Saturday afternoon.
Richmond area
John Hetzer, in gray sweatshirt, just misses a pass as Roger Ferguson tangles him up at the feet. Dave Pinkerton watches in background as they play a little snow football at the Mary Munford Elementary School playground.
Richmond area
With help from passerby Elliott Banks, John Dunnavant negotiates a pile of snow and ice on West Franklin Street, near N. Laurel Street. Dunnavant, who is blind, was returning from lunch at the Village Cafe' and Banks, headed in the same direction, kept Dunnavant updated on the sidewalk conditions, helping him along the way.
Richmond area
Cold, red dawn breaks over the western Henrico neighborhood of Spottswood Park, off Forest Ave.
Richmond area
People in Richmond's Main Street financial district slogged their way through the lunch hour Friday, 1/12/95, as the weather continued to wreak havoc on area businesses and taxed snow removal crews. This photo shows the intersection at 7th and East Main streets, looking east down Main.
Richmond area
The 1600 block of Lauderdale in the west end looking toward Patterson.
Richmond area
Richmond lies in a blanket of snow from this past weekend's storm. Dubbed the 'Blizzard or'96' the storm left as much as 18 inches of the white stuff in surrounding areas. Another storm - touted as weaker and with less snow accumulation - is supposed to hit the area late Thursday or Friday. This is near the Glen Allen area.
Richmond area
Evan Coakley,11, goes airborne sledding down Taylor's Hill at 21st & E. Franklin St. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 1996 during a morning snowstorm in Richmond.
Richmond area
Charles Parker uses a tractor to clear snow out of his Mechanicsville driveway with an assist from his neighbor, Russell Seay, Monday 1/8/96.
Richmond area
Del. W. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville, sweeps snow off his car parked in Capitol Square on Friday, Jan. 12, 1996, after the House adjourned for the weekend. Reynolds said he had a front-wheel drive and didn't expect to have any trouble getting home.
Richmond area
A GRTC bus makes its way down Franklin St. at 7:20 am in front of the Jefferson Hotel. The sky was reddish yellow due to the sun rise in the east.
Richmond area
Tonya Hagy of Powhatan, scrapes the snow of her car window as she leaves work at Ukrop's in Carytown Saturday afternoon.
Richmond area
The collapsed roof of the Atlee Road FasMart/Citgo station in Hanover.
Richmond area
Milton Raspberry, maintenance man for Linden Row Inn, shovels snow by the cold light of dawn in the courtyard as he clears a path to one of the rooms.
Richmond area
A snow plow churns up the snow in the Concourse Area of Richmond Airport. At least one runway is expected to be opened tonight.
Richmond area
Evan Coakley, 11,right, leads his friend John Dolci,11, up the steps at 21st & Franklin St.(Where Taylor's Hill is located) Tuesday, Jan. 9, 1996, while John's stepfather Ben Campbell waits at the bottom for the boys to make another sled run.
Richmond area
A FACE IN THE CROWD ... Frosty the snowman had plenty of friends to hang out with during the past week's storm. This flag is hanging from a home on S. Snead Street in Ashland.
Richmond area
John Dolci,11, goes airborne while sledding down Taylor's Hill at 21st and E. Franklin St.
Richmond area
David Oakley (pictured) rented some Cross-Country skis and went out to circle the Lee Monument. Him and his friend Angela Thurston (not pictured) eventually were headed to Carytown, where Angela works.
Richmond area
City crews used front-end loaders to remove snow from the city Monday 1/8/96. This crew was working at 5th and Broad Streets.
Eastern U.S. snow cover
Lynchburg
Jan. 12, 1996 - Cold temperatures kept the snow fun going for almost a week following the initial storm days earlier.
Lynchburg
Jan. 7, 1996 - Workers remove snow from the roof of the Howard Johnson's Restaurant (since demolished) at the corner of Wards Road and Memorial Avenue.
Lynchburg
Jan. 8, 1996. Huge piles of snow restricted travel on area roads for several days after the Jan. 7 storm, which brought the third-highest, single-day total of snowfall, 14.3 inches.
Lynchburg
Jan. 9, 1996. Neighborhood streets were impassable for anything other than four-wheel-drive vehicles, and even those had to be dug out after the snowplows came through.
Lynchburg
Jan. 10, 1996 - These children built themselves an igloo on East Woodside Ave. in Lynchburg following the epic snowfall.
Lynchburg
Jan. 11, 1996 - Store shelves are stripped of bread and other food staples.
Lynchburg
Jan. 7, 1996. Workers at Lynchburg General Hospital work to keep the ambulance bay open as snow continues to fall. This storm paralyzed the city with 14.3 inches, the third-highest, single-day total.
Lynchburg
Jan. 8, 1996. Heavy equipment was brought in to clear the parking lot of Candlers Station.
Lynchburg
Jan. 6. 1996 - This storm dumped 14.3 inches on Lynchburg, the third-highest, one-day snowfall for the city. Neighborhood roads were impassable for days and people trudged out on foot to get groceries and go to work.
Lynchburg
Jan. 7, 1996. Four-wheel-drive was required for movement on city streets throughout the day.
Color-enhanced Infrared
Roanoke
Clearing the roads and highways was still a priority Tuesday Jan. 9, 1996 as seen by this truck clearing the off-ramp from I-581 to Orange Ave. East.
Roanoke
Rear view mirrors are the only visible remains of buried automobiles on Second Street in Old Southwest. Sunday January 7,1996. At least 20 inches of snow were dumped on Southwest Virginia with more to come.
Roanoke
Denton Willis sleds down a hill at Ghent Park Jan. 9, 1996 after almost two feet of snow blanketed the Roanoke Valley over the weekend.
Roanoke
Brent Babbs maneuvers his tractor across Crystal Spring Ave. in south Roanoke Monday, Jan. 8, 1996 as he clears Mark Oliver's driveway. Residents began to dig out after the weekend snowstorm left the Roanoke Valley with two to three feet of snow on the ground.
Roanoke
Kelsey Whitnack went sledding down one of the hills at Ghent Park on Monday Jan. 8, 1996 as kids were out of school after two to three feet of snow covered the Roanoke Valley over the weeknd.
Roanoke
A few cars were on Interstate 64 between West Virginia and Virginia on Monday afternoon Jan. 8, 1996 although the roads were still snow-covered as the plows continued to try to clear them.
Roanoke
The late afternoon sun pierces through the clouds in an aerial photograph of Roanoke City looking southwest taken Fri. Jan. 12, 1996. The First Union Tower is lower right.
Roanoke
A view of downtown Roanoke from Read Mountain Road after the snowstorm over the weekend of Jan. 7-8, 1996 left two feet of snow and more on the ground. photo taken Jan. 9, 1996.
Roanoke
Roanoke City police were confined to the main roads because of snow as a Roanoke City officer Hambrick adjusts his chains on Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke. Sun. Jan. 7, 1996
Roanoke
Steve Rantz digs out his automobile on Floyd Avenue in Southwest Roanoke Monday morning January 8,1996 after a weekend snowstorm dumped between two and three feet of snow around the valley.
Roanoke
Jake Rambo, 8, of Salem flies through the the air as he snowboards over packed snow on a hill at the Salem Golf Course on Academy Street in Salem, Virginia on January 11, 1996. Jake and many of his friends were taking advantage being out of school because of the recent record snow fall. More snow is predicted for the area.
Culpeper
Some cars along Culpeper Street were buried by snow in January 1996.
Culpeper
The north side of Davis Street looks like a ghost town during the blizzard of 1996.
Culpeper
Some drifts were 6 to 8 feet deep during the 1996 snowstorm.
Washington, D.C.
In this Jan. 8, 1996 file photo, with the Capitol in the background, trucks with plows attempt to clean snow off Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. A widespread blanket of 2 to 3 feet of snow fell from the Mid-Atlantic states to New England, including 30.7 inches in Philadelphia, the city’s highest on record.
Snowfall totals and historical rank
January 9, 1996 front page
