Good morning RVA: Wear your skates (it’s icy)

Bitterly cold temperatures this morning will keep the roads icy and treacherous.

March 4, 2014; 7:03 AM • by Ross Catrow

Good morning RVA! It’s a bitterly cold 15 °F out right now, and it’ll stay cold all day long. Today’s sarcastically-air-quoted “high” is 32 which will probably give some of the snow and ice a chance to scram.

VDOT puts it thus:

Overnight, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) crews and snow removal contractors have been working to plow and treat interstates, primary roads (routes numbered 1-599), and heavily traveled secondary roads (routes numbered 600 and above). While most interstates and major primary routes are clear, temperatures continue to be well below freezing and any moisture on the pavement could continue to refreeze into black ice.

Crews continue to work in rotating 12 hour shifts to apply sand to the pavement to provide drivers with extra traction. Once temperatures rise above 20 degrees, crews will resume salt application to help melt the snow and ice. Crews will shift their focus to secondary and neighborhood roads once the interstates and primary routes are clear. Most primary routes are in minor condition, meaning that icy patches are still possible. Most secondary routes are still in moderate to severe condition, meaning that snow or ice could cover major portions of the roadway.

Virginia State Police responded to over 1,000 accidents yesterday, so please be careful if you’ve got somewhere to go! You’re not special, ice affects everyone.

Chesterfield County, Hanover County, Henrico County, Petersburg City, and Richmond City schools are all closed today. If you’re an employee, make sure you check the appropriate website as all of the districts have issued various codes and what not.
VSU is closed.
VCU will open at 11:00 AM.
VUU and UR will open at 10:00 AM.
The Nickel Bridge is still closed.

Water cooler

Today is Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, or just a regular Tuesday–depending on your worldview! At 5:30 PM (ice and snow be damned) the folks at DogTown Dance Theatre will parade about Manchester celebrating the occasion.

Former VCU sharpshooter Troy Daniels will play his first game in an NBA uniform tonight as the Rockets take on the Heat. Ronoake.com has a nice feature on Daniels’s road to the NBA.

Lena Dunham, the fantastically talented writer, director, and star of Girls, will write a four-issue run of Archie that’ll focus on the female characters of the universe. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until 2015 to read it though.