Northam declares state of emergency ahead of coming winter storm

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) declared a state of emergency on Wednesday ahead of a winter storm that is expected to hit the Old Dominion Thursday evening into Friday morning.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region on Wednesday ahead of the expected storm. The agency is predicting total snow accumulations of between 2 and 4 inches.

The expected inclement weather comes days after the commonwealth was slammed with a winter storm that left some areas under more than a foot of snow. The poor conditions also caused a major blockage on Interstate 95 outside Washington that left some drivers stuck on the highway for almost a full day.

More than 800 cars were disabled along 50 miles of the highway route. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was trapped in one of those cars for almost 27 hours as he made his way to the Capitol.

Northam on Wednesday said the back-to-back storms increase the possibility of communities needing help when recovering from the inclement weather.

“Having two bouts of snow and icy weather back to back makes it more likely communities will need additional help as they continue to recover from the first round of tree-snapping wet snow and ice that we saw Monday,” Northam said in a statement.

“While we typically have ample resources for snow storms, these back-to-back events will generate landmark winter weather that requires extra flexibility. I am grateful to the hundreds of first responders and emergency personnel who continue to work around the clock to keep Virginians safe,” he added.

The governor’s office said the storm will likely include more downed trees, electrical outages and “significant impacts on travel conditions.”

“Because the second storm is expected to continue to exacerbate damage from the first one, the emergency order will cover expenses for the combined storm events,” the governor’s office added.