Freezing Rain and Cold Weather Trigger Power Cuts in Staunton, Augusta County

By Hikaru Y On Jan 8, 2024

Freezing Rain and Cold Weather Trigger Power Cuts in Staunton, Augusta County

According to Dominion Energy’s power outage map, all power has been restored to Augusta County and Staunton customers as of 1:58 p.m.

Electricity had been restored to Staunton customers as of 10:37 a.m. Sunday, with only one home remaining without electricity. According to Dominion’s online outage report, 66 customers in Augusta County are still without power.

As of 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, 66 Augusta County customers and 50 Staunton College Park customers were without power. According to Dominion Energy’s power outage map, the reason for the county outage is a damaged power line.

Crews have been deployed, and restoration is expected to take between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The freezing rain and frigid temperatures on Saturday have caused power disruptions in Staunton, Augusta County, and Waynesboro.

Dominion Energy reported 27 outages in Augusta County (19,628 customers), 242 outages in Staunton (13,342 customers), and 0 outages in Waynesboro (11,811 customers) as of 3 p.m. Saturday.

Within an hour, the figures had skyrocketed. By 3:54 p.m., Augusta County had 336 outages, and Staunton had 1100. Dominion expects electricity to be restored to customers between 5 and 8 p.m.

Outages are diminishing as of 4:55 p.m. Saturday, with 158 people still without power in Augusta County and 1 outage in Staunton. As of 5:25 p.m. on Saturday, Augusta County has 30 customers without power.

According to the most recent Dominion update, electricity should be restored to consumers by 11 p.m. Later tonight, temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing.

The News Leader shared a post on Twitter:

Power outages reported in the Valley after Saturday’s no-snow storm. https://t.co/XwA4m4V4GP

— The News Leader (@NewsLeaderNOW) January 6, 2024

Streets Without Power on Saturday

According to social media, the following streets and homes were without electricity between 2-3 p.m. Saturday:

Hull Street, Staunton
On/off on Selma, Staunton
On/off on Hoover Street, Staunton
A Street, Staunton
Springhill Apartments, Staunton
Elm Street off Springhill Road
Lyle off Elm Street, Staunton
Off and on by Calvary Baptist Church
Parts of Coalter Street by Staunton High School
On/off on Spring Hill Road, Staunton
On/off by Ware Elementary School, Staunton
Churchville Avenue, Staunton
On/off on Burwell Street, Staunton
Terry Court lost power, but it is restored, according to a resident
Cherry Hill lost power, but it is now restored, according to a resident
Lyndhurst in Waynesboro (not reflected in Dominion’s power outage grid)
Peach Street, Staunton

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Icy Patches on Shenandoah Valley Roads: Vdot

According to a news statement from the Virginia Department of Transportation, Saturday’s winter storm delivered a combination of precipitation to the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands, leaving slippery patches on numerous key and secondary roadways.

Snow has been observed in the northern valley and higher altitudes, but the majority of the state has witnessed rain or freezing rain, according to VDOT.

Because ground temperatures are still around freezing, drivers should be on the lookout for glazing on roads and bridges.

The rain is forecast to stop this afternoon, but wet roads may refreeze Saturday night until early Sunday morning, according to VDOT.

VDOT crews and contractors continue to treat and plow roadways throughout the 11-county Staunton District as needed. VDOT prioritizes interstates and key roadways, then secondary roads and subdivision streets.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the following were the conditions in the VDOT Staunton District:

Minor issues on Interstate 64 in Alleghany and Rockbridge counties. Augusta County has clear skies.
Minor conditions on Interstate 66 in Warren County.
Minor issues on Interstate 81 in Rockbridge and Frederick counties. Conditions are clear in Augusta, Rockingham, and Shenandoah counties.
Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, and Warren counties have minor road conditions. Clarke County has clear skies.
Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, Highland, Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, Clarke, and Warren counties have minor road conditions.