UPDATE AT 10 A.M. MONDAY: Line crews restored power service to all customers overnight. The last major repair took place in the Kennon Drive/North Davis Drive neighborhood off Piney Forest Road in Danville. Up to 75 customers were without power in this neighborhood due to four broken poles.
UPDATE AT 5 P.M. TUESDAY:
As of 4:30 p.m., approximately 150 customers remain without power. The outages include the Kennon Drive/North Davis Drive neighborhood off Piney Forest Road in Danville. Two contract crews are working to replace four broken poles in that neighborhood. The remainder of the outages are scattered throughout the western portion of Pittsylvania County.
The goal is to have power restored to all customers by midnight.
UPDATE AT 10 A.M. TUESDAY
The National Weather Service has canceled the winter storm warning. Temperatures have climbed into the upper 30s, ending the threat of additional ice accumulation. Roads will continue to be slushy through the morning. Overnight moderate to heavy rain will produce ponding of water.
Public Works crews plowed and sanded residential streets overnight. Ninety percent of the streets have been plowed. Heavy rain began at 3 a.m. and created slush in the unplowed areas. Crews will continue to plow and sand this morning.
Police responded to seven minor accidents between 7 p.m. Monday and 1 a.m. today. No accidents have been reported since 1 a.m.; however, Police urge caution when traveling due to ponding on streets from heavy rain and melting snow.
Danville Utilities reports the following:
• Approximately 750 customers currently are without power. The outages primarily are in the western portion of Pittsylvania County. These outages occurred because of tree damage from freezing rain. The outages are scattered and are in groups of 15 or more.
• Three poles were broken on North Davis Drive, which is located off Piney Forest Road. A crew has been dedicated to replace the poles. The pole replacements will take most of the day.
• The largest concentration of customers without power at one time took place at 5 a.m., when one of the feeders out of the Piney Forest substation developed a problem and left approximately 450 customers without power. Service has been restored.
UPDATE AT 4:30 P.M. MONDAY
Here is the situation report as of Monday afternoon:
•
UPDATE AT 10 A.M. MONDAY:
Parks and Recreation has canceled all programs scheduled for today. Basketball games and practices scheduled for this evening also are canceled. Facilities will be open for staff, but not to the public. Recreation facilities are planned to be open Tuesday.
The main library on Patton Street and the branch library on Westover Drive will close early today due to weather conditions. Both facilities will close at 5 p.m.
UPDATE AT 7 A.M. MONDAY
Here is the situation report regarding the winter storm:
•
STORY POSTED 5 P.M. SUNDAY, FEB. 14
A winter storm warning by the National Weather Service is now in effect. The warning means that significant accumulations of snow, sleet and ice are expected. Snow is expected to develop tonight and continue into the midday hours on Monday before changing to sleet and freezing rain.
An accumulation of two to four inches of snow is forecast before the changeover to sleet and freezing rain. Through Monday afternoon and evening, a tenth of an inch of ice could accumulate in Danville.
Travel will be hazardous due to snow- and ice-covered roadways.
The winter storm warning will remain in effect until noon Tuesday, at which time warmer temperatures are expected to turn all precipitation to rain only.
Tonight, Public Works crews will be on duty to monitor street conditions and apply sand and salt as needed. Heavier snowfall amounts are not expected until around 4 a.m. to 5 a.m.; however, any snow received will stick immediately to street surfaces because of the low temperatures.
Snowplow crews are prepared for a round-the-clock snow removal operation. Residents are reminded that snow removal is accomplished on a priority basis. The top priority is main thoroughfares and collector streets leading to various emergency facilities. Second priorities are routes that connect to primary routes and bus routes.
Crews will begin plowing road surfaces when one inch of snow or ice has accumulated. Plowing continues only on the highest traffic volume roads until the end of the snow event. After the end of the snowfall and the primary streets are clear, crews begin plowing industrial areas, and then to roadways that connect residential areas to the primary streets, and finally to residential areas. Generally, it takes 24 to 36 hours after the snow event has ended to clear all residential streets. City crews do not clear private streets and alleys.
The City asks our residents and visitors not to park, when possible, on the streets, eliminating the chance of snowplow operators damaging vehicles and allowing for a quicker plowing operation. Motorists are advised to limit travel and stay off the streets entirely if possible. Check for newspaper, radio and television bulletins for information on road conditions.
City power and light crews also are prepared for a round-the-clock response to any outages. Electric customers whose residence or business is without power should call Danville Utilities at (434) 773-8300 to report the outage.
Jason Grey, director of utilities, said on Sunday that this storm has the potential to create widespread outages because freezing rain will form as ice on power lines and tree limbs, which weighs them down and makes them vulnerable to falling down.
“It can cause major problems,” Grey said. “We urge our customers to make sure they have warm blankets, a radio, batteries and flashlights just in case the power goes out.”
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.
It is not always possible to determine how long a power outage will occur because of extent of damage; therefore, a customer 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.
Residents and visitors should be aware that downed power lines are dangerous. Please call 9-1-1 immediately.
Danville Transit will monitor road conditions overnight and make a decision before 6 a.m. whether to operate on regular routes or snow routes.
ORIGINAL STORY POSTED 5 P.M. THURSDAY, FEB. 11
City of Danville crews will begin pretreating main thoroughfares with brine on Friday due to the increasing potential for a winter storm on Monday and Tuesday. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook.
The decision to begin pretreating streets early was made because – much like last month’s snowstorm – low temperatures will limit the window of opportunity for applying brine before arrival of the storm.
Temperatures on Friday are expected to reach a high of 35 degrees. On Saturday and Sunday, however, temperatures will remain below freezing.
Brine is a mixture of water and salt. When applied to the road surface, 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.
At low temperatures, however, brine can freeze to the road surface rather than evaporate.
Crews will apply brine when temperatures reach 25 degrees. It takes city crews about 10 hours to pretreat all main thoroughfares.
As of Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service’s forecast is snow likely on Monday; and on Tuesday, snow and rain. The daytime high on Monday is expected to be near 33, with an overnight low of 19. On Tuesday, warmer air will arrive in the area, with a high temperature near 46 degrees.