Youngkin: All hands on deck for 'serious' snowstorm

The storm is forecast to bring up to a foot of snow to a far Southwest Virginia still reeling from weekend floods and last week’s ice storm.

But on top of that hard-hit region, large accumulation of snow is expected around Greater Richmond and Lynchburg.

In addition, the Hampton Roads region and the Eastern Shore, unaccustomed to heavy snow, could see as much accumulation as Virginia’s mountain regions, Youngkin said.

“We still have lots of areas in Southwest Virginia, and particularly Buchanan and Pulaski county where we just don’t have access yet, and that’s really serious,” he said.

“And so we’ve got real work going on there, and in advance of the snowstorm. And this snowstorm is going to be serious,” Youngkin said.

Beginning early Wednesday in Southwest Virginia, the storm is expected to make its way across the state through the day.

“We are under a state of emergency,” Youngkin said.

“If you haven’t gotten to where you want to get to by midnight tonight, stay where you are. And third, if you need help, call for it. We will get somebody to help you between local resources and state resources. And finally, let’s help our neighbors. Let’s look out for another because that’s what we do best,” he said.

Youngkin said a National Guard unit will stay in Southwest Virginia, to help with rescue and debris clearing, with another unit deploying to Lynchburg to help in that area and in the Shenandoah and Roanoke valleys.

Still more Guard members will deploy to the Greater Richmond area, including Southside and Emporia, while others will head to the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads.

“That puts Guardsmen with vehicles, both Humvees and larger transport vehicles, that have the great capacity of getting anywhere anytime in place,” Youngkin said.

With the State Police on their 24 hour shift notice, “that means everybody’s working,” he said.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has moved trucks and plows into Hampton Roads, giving that region 40% more equipment than usual, he said. More plows are also coming to central Virginia, he said.

Youngkin said he’s asked the new Federal Emergency Management Administration, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles for an accelerated federal declaration of emergency in response to the weekend flooding.

One challenge is that there’s some damage assessment still to be done, and roads still underwater are slowing that down.

In addition, teams assigned to assessments are shifting to snow clearing and rescue work, Youngkin said.

He said the state has positioned large supplies of water – bottled water and tanker trucks — as well as backup generators for shelters. He noted that there are still 15 communities in Southwest Virginia under boil water advisories because of damage to systems from Hurricane Helene.

“This is an all hands moment to make sure we’re hitting all of those areas,” he said.