After two consecutive snowless winters, Isle of Wight and Surry County broke the dry spell Sunday night with the area’s first snow accumulation since 2022.

According to the National Weather Service’s Wakefield station, a broad mid- to upper-level vortex centered across eastern Canada supported a cold weather pattern over the weekend across large swaths of the continental United States, depositing a half-inch to an inch of snow on the ground across Isle of Wight County and closer to two-and-a-half inches in the western areas of Surry County.

Much of the initial snowfall had melted by Monday afternoon, by which time the precipitation had changed to rain and temperatures had risen from an overnight low of 31 degrees to 36 degrees. Snow started falling again Monday evening, leaving a dusting over Smithfield Tuesday morning.

It was enough to prompt Isle of Wight County Schools and Surry County Public Schools to each cancel classes for two consecutive days on Jan. 6-7.

“Even with this additional closure, we want to assure you that we have sufficient banked instructional time to cover both missed days, so no adjustments to the school calendar will be necessary at this time,” Isle of Wight’s Jan. 6 announcement read. “While we acknowledge this is an early decision, we believe it is important to give families adequate time to make any necessary child care arrangements.”

According to Virginia State Police, troopers investigated 32 crashes across Hampton Roads over 24 hours Jan. 6-7, eight with reported injuries, as the storm made its way across the state. Not all are known to be weather-related, but State Police blamed slippery road conditions, in combination with suspected drunk driving, for a fatal single-vehicle crash in Sussex County that killed a Surry County man.

Police say 32-year-old Timothy Lee Tanner of Dendron was unrestrained and died upon impact when he lost control of his 2003 Ford F-150 pickup truck and struck a tree just after midnight on Jan. 6 in the 7300 block of Birch Island Road in Wakefield. 

Police say Tanner was driving too fast for roadway conditions and alcohol also appears to be a contributing factor.

The cold front is expected to remain with a high of 36 degrees and a low of 17 degrees on Wednesday in Smithfield, followed by a high of 33 degrees and a low of 20 degrees on Thursday, and a high of 38 degrees and low of 25 degrees on Friday. The forecast as of Monday called for a chance of snow again on Jan. 11.