News Flash

STORY POSTED 6 P.M. SUNDAY: Here is the latest situation report. It includes weather forecast updates and things citizens need to know regarding our storm response.

• Danville is under a winter storm warning until 11 a.m. Monday. Snow began falling in Danville around 3 a.m. today. Heavy snowfall has fallen throughout the day. The National Weather Service office in Blacksburg reports that the heavy snowfall has ended, with light snow and possibly some sleet this evening. Danville has received a snow accumulation today of more than 12 inches.
• City Manager Ken Larking has declared a local state of emergency. Police say that citizens should not attempt to travel unless an emergency.
• Temperatures currently are 28 degrees, and they will remain at or below freezing overnight. Any citizen in need of shelter should call the non-emergency number for the Emergency Communications Center. That number is (434) 799-5111, option 8. The center will arrange to meet the need.
• The Police Department answered 22 weather-related calls today. Of those calls, 16 were for disabled vehicles and four were minor vehicle accidents, with no injuries.
• Works snowplow crews began clearing major thoroughfares at 4:30 a.m. today. Crews are scheduled for a round-the-clock snow removal operation. Crews are making a final pass on major thoroughfares. Later tonight, crews will move to streets that connect to primary routes and bus routes, and then into residential streets. Due to the heavy snow accumulation, it is estimated that it will take 36 to 48 hours to clear all residential streets. We do not clear private streets and alleys.
• Residents and visitors should not travel if possible. Not only is travel dangerous during a winter storm, but it also will pack the snow accumulation on the street and make the snow removal more difficult. Also, by staying off the streets, crews can clear streets more quickly.
• If you must travel, proceed with caution. Only the major thoroughfares have been pretreated. Remember that your car cannot start, stop or turn as quickly and surely on snow as it does on dry pavement, so think and drive accordingly, and be cautious driving and walking in parking lots.
• A number of closings and cancellations for public buildings, services and programs have been announced for Monday:
• Danville Transit will not operate on Monday. The decision includes all transportation services.
• All Parks and Recreation programs scheduled for Monday have been canceled.
• All Parks and Recreation facilities, including both library buildings, will be closed.
• The James F. Ingram Justice Center (courthouse) will be closed.
• The Municipal Building will be closed to the public until noon Monday.
• Danville Public Schools also will be closed.
• Household trash pickup will take place as scheduled on Monday.
• Power and light crews have been responding to reports of power outages throughout the day. The outages included one major outage. That outage occurred early this afternoon when a fallen tree damaged a utility pole on Southland Drive in Danville. The damage left 915 customers in south Danville without power. Service to those customers has been restored. The rest of the outages today have been scattered throughout our service territory. Many of those outages have been restored.
• Electric customers whose residence or business is without power should call Danville Utilities at (434) 773-8300 to report the outage.
• When widespread outages occur, power and light line crews first are assigned to make repairs based on restoring power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest time. As lines are repaired and crews become available, they are assigned to areas with fewer outages.
• Customers should note that during the power restoration effort there are times when crews must temporarily shut off power to an area to make repairs. Once major lines serving a neighborhood are repaired, power may be on at some houses and off at others because of additional damage to lines and equipment serving those homes. Some houses may have electric service when others do not because houses may be on different lines or circuits.
• Each outage has different circumstances and some may take longer to identify the source of the problem. Widespread damage makes it more difficult to accurately predict when a particular customer's power will be restored.
• Customers using medical devices must make other arrangements in the event of a power outage and temporarily go to a location or medical facility that does have power. For customers unable to make other arrangements, they should call the non-emergency number for the Emergency Communications Center. That number is (434) 799-5111, option 8. The center will notify one of the participating agencies to meet the need.
• Residents and visitors should be aware that downed power lines are dangerous. Please call 9-1-1 immediately.
• Danville Regional Airport closed at 6 a.m. due to snow accumulation.

STORY POSTED AT 8:30 A.M. SUNDAY

Here is the latest situation report. It includes weather forecast updates and things citizens need to know regarding our storm response.

• Danville is under a winter storm warning until 11 a.m. Monday. Snow began falling in Danville around 3 a.m. Currently, heavy snowfall is occurring. Travel is difficult, even for four-wheel vehicles. As of 7:30 a.m., Danville had received about 3 inches of snow. Another 12 to 15 inches is expected today.
• Temperatures currently are 28 degrees, and they are expected to remain at or below freezing throughout the day. Any citizen in need of shelter should call the non-emergency number for the Emergency Communications Center. That number is (434) 799-5111, option 8. The center will arrange to meet the need.
• The Police Department has received reports of four motor vehicle accidents, with vehicles hitting a parked car, hitting a guardrail or becoming stranded. No injuries have occurred. Police say that citizens should not attempt to travel today unless an emergency.
• Public Works snowplow crews began pushing snow at 4:30 a.m. on major thoroughfares. They will work round the clock only on the highest traffic volume roads until the end of the snow event.
• When the snow event has ended and the main thoroughfares are cleared, crews then will move to streets that connect to primary routes and bus routes. The final stage will be residential neighborhoods. Generally, it takes 24 to 36 hours after the snow event has ended to plow all residential streets. We do not clear private streets and alleys.
• Our power and light crews are on standby and prepared to respond to any outages. Power outages are likely because this storm will bring wet, heavy snow, which weighs down power lines and tree limbs. Electric customers whose residence or business is without power should call Danville Utilities at (434) 773-8300 to report the outage.
• Currently, there are reports of 20 customers with power outages. No outages were reported overnight.
• When widespread outages occur, power and light line crews first are assigned to make repairs based on restoring power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest time. As lines are repaired and crews become available, they are assigned to areas with fewer outages.
• Customers should note that during the power restoration effort there are times when crews must temporarily shut off power to an area to make repairs. Once major lines serving a neighborhood are repaired, power may be on at some houses and off at others because of additional damage to lines and equipment serving those homes. Some houses may have electric service when others do not because houses may be on different lines or circuits.
• Each outage has different circumstances and some may take longer to identify the source of the problem. Widespread damage makes it more difficult to accurately predict when a particular customer's power will be restored.
• Customers using medical devices must make other arrangements in the event of a power outage and temporarily go to a location or medical facility that does have power. For customers unable to make other arrangements, they should call the non-emergency number for the Emergency Communications Center. That number is (434) 799-5111, option 8. The center will notify one of the participating agencies to meet the need.
• Residents and visitors should be aware that downed power lines are dangerous. Please call 9-1-1 immediately.
• Danville Regional Airport closed at 6 a.m. due to snow accumulation.

STORY POSTED 12:30 P.M. SATURDAY:

Here is the latest situation report. It includes weather forecast updates and things citizens need to know regarding our storm response.

• Danville is under a winter storm warning from midnight Saturday to 11 a.m. Monday.
• The timing and snowfall totals have changed since the Friday forecasts. According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, snow will begin falling in Danville around 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. Sunday. The snowfall will begin light, but with heavy bands at times. Snow will begin accumulating by 6 a.m. and will be heavy throughout the day. The latest forecast models also indicate higher snowfall amounts than previously expected for Danville. A total snow accumulation of 10 to 12 inches is likely, but could range as high as 18 inches before ending after midnight Sunday. On Monday morning, the snow event will have ended, but we could still see flurries for the Monday morning commute to work.
• Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency in advance of the winter storm due to the effects anticipated for southern and southwest Virginia.
• Temperatures are forecast to reach a low of 28 degrees overnight Saturday, and climb no higher than 32 degrees on Sunday.
• Any resident and visitor in need of shelter should call the non-emergency number for the Emergency Communications Center. That number is (434) 799-5111. The center will arrange to meet the need.
• Public Works snowplow crews are prepared for a round-the-clock snow removal operation. When plowing begins, crews will work only on the highest traffic volume roads until the end of the snow event.
• When the snow event has ended and the main thoroughfares are cleared, crews then will move to streets that connect to primary routes and bus routes. The final stage will be residential neighborhoods. Generally, it takes 24 to 36 hours after the snow event has ended to plow all residential streets. We do not clear private streets and alleys.
• Residents and visitors should not travel if possible. Not only is travel dangerous during a winter storm, but it also will pack the snow accumulation on the street and make the snow removal more difficult. Also, by staying off the streets, crews can clear streets more quickly.
• If you must travel, proceed with caution. Only the major thoroughfares have been pretreated. Remember that your car cannot start, stop or turn as quickly and surely on snow as it does on dry pavement, so think and drive accordingly, and be cautious driving and walking in parking lots.
• Our power and light crews are on standby and prepared to respond to any outages. Power outages are likely because this storm will bring wet, heavy snow, which weighs down power lines and tree limbs. Electric customers whose residence or business is without power should call Danville Utilities at (434) 773-8300 to report the outage.
• When widespread outages occur, power and light line crews first are assigned to make repairs based on restoring power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest time. As lines are repaired and crews become available, they are assigned to areas with fewer outages.
• Customers should note that during the power restoration effort there are times when crews must temporarily shut off power to an area to make repairs. Once major lines serving a neighborhood are repaired, power may be on at some houses and off at others because of additional damage to lines and equipment serving those homes. Some houses may have electric service when others do not because houses may be on different lines or circuits.
• Each outage has different circumstances and some may take longer to identify the source of the problem. Widespread damage makes it more difficult to accurately predict when a particular customer's power will be restored.
• Customers using medical devices must make other arrangements in the event of a power outage and temporarily go to a location or medical facility that does have power. For customers unable to make other arrangements, they should call the non-emergency number for the Emergency Communications Center. That number is (434) 799-5111, option 8. The center will notify one of the participating agencies to meet the need.
• Residents and visitors should be aware that downed power lines are dangerous. Please call 9-1-1 immediately.
• Since this is the first major storm for the winter season, we encourage you to take a look at the resources on our winter storm page. Here is the direct link: http://danvilleva.gov/weather. The page provides links to the news releases and alerts issued for this storm. It provides answers to frequently asked questions on snow removal and power outages. The page also has links to winter weather tips. The page also includes a link to food safety information from the Virginia Department of Health. Here is the direct link: https://www.danvilleva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/22848/Food-safety-during-a-power-outage

ORIGINAL STORY POSTED FRIDAY, DEC. 7

City prepares for threat of winter storm

The Danville Public Works Department is pretreating main thoroughfares today because of a winter storm that is expected to bring accumulating snow beginning Sunday morning and continuing into Monday morning.

According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, a total accumulation of 12 inches is likely for the city, but the amounts could be as low as four inches and as high as 15 inches, depending on the track of the storm.

“This system is coming west to east from California and will bring with it moisture from the Gulf,” meteorologist Patrick Wilson said Friday morning. “The totals will depend upon how far this moisture spreads northward.”

Wilson also said there is uncertainty with the time of arrival for the storm in Danville.

“Earlier this week, it was expected that the storm would arrive by late Friday or Saturday, but it is backing up into Sunday. That is why we have allowed a window from midnight Saturday to Sunday morning. It is possible that you could wake up Sunday morning and it hasn’t yet started to snow.”

Wilson said the snowfall will start out light, though there could be heavy bands for brief periods. If the snowfall begins after midnight, then it will turn heavy by daybreak. If the snowfall begins later Sunday morning, then the heaviest snowfall will occur Sunday afternoon and evening.

The snow will be dry and light in the beginning, but then switch to wet and heavy as more moisture arrives, which would weigh down power lines and tree limbs and create power outages. Winds are expected to be relatively light, with gusts up to 20 mph.

Temperatures are forecast to reach a low of 28 degrees overnight Saturday, and climb no higher than 32 degrees on Sunday.

Public Works crews will pretreat major thoroughfares and bridges with brine, which is a mixture of water and salt. The water in the brine evaporates, leaving the salt behind on the road. The salt breaks the bond between the snow and the roadway, and it therefore helps prevent the snow from freezing onto roads and bridges.

Public Works Director Rick Drazenovich said crews are prepared for round-the-clock snow removal operations. They will begin plowing road surfaces when one inch of snow has accumulated. Plowing continues only on the highest traffic volume roads until the end of the snow event.

When the snow event has ended and the main thoroughfares are cleared, crews then will move to streets that connect to primary routes and bus routes. The final stage will be residential neighborhoods.

Residents and visitors are urged to proceed with caution. Only the major thoroughfares will be pretreated. Remember that your car cannot start, stop or turn as quickly and surely on snow as it does on dry pavement, so think and drive accordingly, and be cautious driving and walking in parking lots.

Danville Utilities is monitoring the situation. Crews will be on standby through the weekend in the event of power outages.

Residents and visitors can learn more about snow removal operations, what to do in the event of power outages, and winter safety tips by visiting the City’s weather page: danvilleva.gov/weather.

If any resident or visitor needs shelter, then they should call the City of Danville non-emergency number, which is 434-799-5111. Arrangements for shelter will be made.