22-01-2025
Hampton Roads gets another snow day, thanks to a record-breaking storm
Boogie boards, sheet pans, cardboard boxes and pool floaties — for the children of Ghent, just about any flat surface became a sled.
Over the course of Tuesday night, several inches of snow fell over Hampton Roads. About a dozen children were atop the hill at the Raleigh Avenue playground in Norfolk at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Kate Weireter, 7, and her sister Maddie, 5, brought their pink and blue inflatable sleds. Around them, other children were building a ramp with fresh snow to get more air time as they moved down the hill.
This latest cold snap comes from a disruption in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air usually trapped at the North Pole. The resulting storm moved across the South this week, leaving behind a 'once-in-a-lifetime' snowfall in cities near the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service reported up to 4 inches of snow in the Houston area, and New Orleanians were spotted having snowball fights on Bourbon Street.
In downtown Norfolk, city workers were out prepping and clearing roads overnight and into the morning. Large icicles hanging from ledges fell and shattered as the sun peeked from behind clouds. Outside the Town Point garage, city maintenance department workers Wallace Godette and Troy Postell shoveled snow and salted the street for downtown drivers. Postell said they had been out since about 7 a.m. for their shifts to take over for night shift employees.
'We put the salt down first, and then when it snows, it'll break it down,' Postell said. 'But if it's anything less than 20 degrees, it'll be ice. It won't do anything. We're doing everything we can to try to do the best we can because (Wednesday night) is going to be really cold.'
Across Hampton Roads, city offices, courthouses and schools shut down operations Wednesday.
The National Weather Service in Wakefield reported that snow totals in Hampton Roads ranged from 1 to 4 inches by 8 a.m. Wednesday. In northeast North Carolina, totals were higher, with ranges hitting 3-6 inches. Currituck County recorded localized snowfall of 6 to 8 inches. Accuweather reported 9 inches at the Wright Brothers Memorial.
While the snow has ended, bitter cold and very low wind chills are here to stay over the next couple days. Through Thursday, weather service meteorologists forecast that highs will be near-freezing and wind chill temperatures overnight could drop to single digits or teens.
As the weekend approaches, though, Hampton Roads should get a bit warmer. High temperatures Saturday could reach the 40s and 50 on Sunday. Overnight temperatures will hover around 30 degrees.
Eliza Noe,
