Christmas in 1998 was certainly one to remember for many on the Peninsula – when a major ice storm caused over 400,000 people to lose power for up to 10 days!
A look back through the WAVY Archives shows how much ice fell. On the upper end of the Peninsula across Newport News and Williamsburg, a half an inch to 1″ of ice blanketed trees and power lines, causing branches to fall on the power lines. This resulted in extensive power outages. Some trees and limbs fell onto homes, causing a disaster right before Christmas.
At the time, it was called the worst ice storm for Virginia in recent history. 93,000 homes were and business were without power.
A Washington Post Article from the time references 14 areas south and east of Richmond declaring states of emergency. Colonial Heights, Newport News, Suffolk and Williamsburg; the counties of Chesterfield, James City, Lancaster, Lunenberg, Mecklenberg, Middlesex, New Kent, Prince George, Surry and York all declared an emergency.
Numerous trees also fell on Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, causing travel issues. VDOT crews spent the holiday clearing trees across the commonwealth.
The storm system was unique for our area. Most of the time, we don’t see major ice storms on the coast due to our proximity to the water. However, inland a bit – they can and obviously do occur.
Freezing rain occurs when there is a small, shallow layer of cold air at or below freezing at the surface. Precipitation falls as liquid and then freezes into a layer of ice.
Do you have any memories of the 1998 ice storm?