RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — As temperatures continue to drop across Virginia, safety officials are urging drivers to stay off the roads. Following a day of snow and slush, the overnight freeze is expected to create dangerous sheets of black ice, significantly complicating travel.
Virginia State Police (VSP) reported a busy day responding to the storm’s impact. By this morning alone, officers had responded to nearly 250 accidents statewide , highlighting the hazardous conditions.
While snow has begun to melt in some areas, the slush and standing water left behind are expected to freeze solid as temperatures plummet overnight.
“Overnight, with plunging temperatures, a lot of that snow and ice and slush and even rainwater is likely to freeze solid,” said Morgan Dean, a representative from AAA. “It will become very dangerous — black ice and ice out there. What might look like a wet road at 4 p.m. could be a sheet of ice by 6 or 7 p.m.”
Crews from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) are focusing on clearing major highways and interstates, but secondary roads and residential streets remain snow-covered and slippery. Officials say conditions are unlikely to improve until tomorrow.