March snowstorm hits Shenandoah Valley

This is the view out the window to my back yard this morning. Yesterday's rain turned into last night's ice that turned into today's driving, horizontal snow with an expected accumulation of somewhere in the vicinity of a foot, give or take a few inches. It's beautiful ... a winter wonderland in this ongoing winter of 2014. Old Man Winter is using every minute of his time leading to the first day of spring on March 20.

Governor McAuliffe has declared a state of emergency for Virginia so, if possible, stay home, stay safe, and stay warm. I'm going to spend it writing, reading, and taking photos. Enjoy!

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
March 3, 2014

Unexpected snow, sub-zero temps surprise Shenandoah Valley

With all eyes on the coastal areas of the southeastern U.S., the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia was expected to see, at most, snow flurries while East Coast beaches were braced for a foot or more of accumulation. Not only did snow flurries turn into measurable amounts -- some areas saw 1.5-2 inches of snow -- but the thermometer plummeted overnight causing sub-zero temps by Wednesday morning.

At our house west of Staunton it dropped to -0.2 degrees.

No complaints from me. Much of our snow cover had melted Monday when temps hit 48 degrees before again dropping with an arctic cold front so the ground is now covered once again.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
January 29, 2014