Forecast winter weather in the Shenandoah Valley region may produce wet snow and slush for the morning commute.
Precipitation forecast to begin as rain may end up with a few inches of snow in some areas. Motorists should pack their galoshes, defensive driving skills and some extra time for the morning commute.
In the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia Department of Transportation crews will be on watch for any winter weather and treat roads as frozen precipitation begins. Anti-icing with brine will not be used since this weather event is predicted to begin as rain, which would wash away any pre-treatment on the road surface.
The storm may also have high winds occurring in the pre-dawn hours. Motorists should be alert for falling branches or trees. Travelers can report downed trees and branches on the road to the VDOT Customer Service Center at 800-FOR- ROAD (800-367-7623) or by using the Customer Service Center mobile site at https://my.vdot.virginia.gov/.
Winter road conditions can be found on www.511Virginia.org. For the winter road conditions map click on the road condition button in the map legend. New this year is a map layer choice featuring WAZE traffic data that reports some road hazards and disabled vehicles.
For a text listing of winter weather road conditions go to www.511Virginia.org, look at the orange bar on the top of the page and click on “Text Views” and then click on “Road Condition Table”. Look at the pull down box that lists all jurisdictions. In this box individual counties can be chosen to view.
On the go? Then visit VDOT’s Free Virginia 511 Tools to get your 511 app for android or iOS. Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511.
For other assistance call the VDOT Customer Service Center, available 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Citizens can dial 1-800-FOR- ROAD (1-800-367-7623) from anywhere in the state to report road hazards, ask transportation questions, or get information related to Virginia’s roads.
The Staunton District Twitter feed is at @VaDOTStaunton. VDOT can be followed on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube. RSS feeds are also available for statewide information. The VDOT Web page is located at www.VirginiaDOT.org.
The VDOT Staunton District serves Frederick, Shenandoah, Clarke, Warren, Page, Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, Alleghany and Bath counties.