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By Rogkk Piantadosi
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
The region’s biggest December snowstorm ever - and the string of cold days and subfreezing nights that were to follow - guarantee that Rappahannock County would have a white Christmas this year.
It also meant the county’s many miles of winding, hilly secondary roads would remain treacherous, if not impassable, in spots for several days afterward. But loth Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT > officials and county authorities said earlier this week that, despite a record-setting snowfall, there were few accidents and the weekend was relatively quiet.
Total snowfall recorded by the National Weather service Friday night through early Sunday ranged from 16.5 inches in Washington to 18 in Sperryville and 24 in Boston
The 15 inches that fell at Reagan National Airport broke the previous record for a December snowfall of 11.5 inches set 77 years ago.
“Because it started on a Friday night, and because it was so well-predicted, 1 think people had enough time to prepare and just stayed off the roads Saturday, and to a certain extent Sunday.” said County Administrator John McCarthy.
The Sheriff's Office and state police reported no major accidents or incidents on county roads during the storm or in the days afterward, though emergency vehicles from the Amissville Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company had to be helped out of ditches and drifts twice during the w eekend, in both cases by unidentified tractor-driving Samaritans
There were reports that secondary roads seemed to remain in worse condition longer than in previous years, most of them coming via Rappnet, the email list-serve with some 800 subscribers, most believed to be in Rappahannock.
Those reports and others - that Fauquier and Culpeper county roads seemed in better shape Sunday than Rappahannock's, and that VDOT budget cuts w ere responsible for allegedly inferior service - were disputed by a VDOT official involved in snow removal operations here.
VDOT regional manager David C'ubbage said the volume and rate of snowfall - not any budget considerations - was what made clearing a challenge
The mix of employees tmd contractors plowing and treating Rappahannock’s roads was “certainly comparable to previous years’ fleets,” Cubbage said “We had dry pavement on 211, 522 and 231 by midday [Sunday!. As far as overall performance in this storm, which was probably the most significant snowfall we’ve seen in six, maybe 10 years. I am impressed - both as a citizen and as a manager.”
Amissville’s rescue squad was helped out by locals
See SNOW, Page A8
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