Winter Weather in S.Virginia? (Norfolk, Roanoke: living, moving, transit)

[mlja]

Hi there,
I am curious how the winter weather is in Virginia, specifically the southern part? I am considering moving from NH but want an area that has warm mild winters.

Thanks!

[SmerkyGrl]

Depends on what your definition of a warm mild winter is. I suppose to people from the Northeast, we can be seens as fairly "warm". We get snow maybe 3 times a year at most (big ones, not flurries) and the temperature dropping below zero is a very rare occurence. We do, however, have slight issues with ice and winds sometimes, so those things can make an otherwise mild winter day seem very unpleasant.

[Mrs.Mortgage]

I moved to Va 11 yrs ago from Pennsylvania. Compared to PA, Va has very mild winters. SmerkyGrl is right, I can remember 3 snow falls this past winter. They usually dont last long and are gone before you know it!

[seanpecor]

Southern Virginia on the east or west side of the state? Virginia is a very wide state and the south side has about 4 usda hardiness zones The very warmest is the southeastern corner of the state (zone 8) but you can get alot of grinding wind and cold, cold rain over there. In southwestern Virginia you can get into some zone 5 microclimates but it's mostly zone 6. Here where I am, in Boones Mill, according to the usda map we're on the cooler transition zone of zone 7 but I think they need to update the map because I suspect we're in the warmer transition area of zone 7.

I've only been in this area for 2 years. The general history is 22" of snowfall for the year on average. Last winter I think we got about 6" total. The year before, possibly 10". Snow is typically melted off by the next day.

Sean

[puttingdownroots]

Originally Posted by mlja

Hi there,
I am curious how the winter weather is in Virginia, specifically the southern part? I am considering moving from NH but want an area that has warm mild winters.

Thanks!

Hi,

We've been living just south of Roanoke in Franklin County for two years now, and the winters here are largely terrific: sunny even in the cold, with only a few snow storms. Some days are bitterly cold up here on the mountain we live on, but if we venture down into Roanoke itself it always is a bit warmer. My English in-laws were delighted to be sitting on our deck in January in short sleeves during a brief warm spell.

That said, even if you move to this rather temperate part of the state, think very carefully about what road you choose to live on. I second what Seanpecor said about ice storms here, and if you live on a non-state-maintained road like we do, a snowstorm is a pain, and an icestorm makes your road unusable for days. The mailman won't even come out!

You can find 'Averages and Records' for temperature and precipitation on National and Local Weather Forecast, Radar, Map and Report - just search on the city or town you're considering. You can even compare two locations, to give you a sense of how different it will be from NH.

All the best with your move!

[mlja]

Thanks for the replies!

How does the weather compare in Roanoke to Newport news/Norfolk? Does Roanoke have warmer winters and summers?

Thanks!

[jb124]

http://www.city-data.com/city/Norfolk-Virginia.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Roanoke-Virginia.html

From the climate charts on the above links, it looks like they have similar climates with Norfolk having low temps about 8 degrees warmer in the summer and 5 degrees warmer in the winter.

[seanpecor]

Roanoke has slightly warmer summers, and a summer that feels a wee longer. However, Roanoke has slightly cooler winters. You'd almost have to be a climatologist to figure out if Roanoke's winter "feels" cooler though. I suspect winters feel about the same because the Roanoke humidity levels tend to be lower in the Winter, while Norfolk being close to the ocean tends to have a higher humidity. So a damp 36F would, to me, feel colder than a dry 33F.

Sean

[MrAllGood]

Originally Posted by mlja

Thanks for the replies!

How does the weather compare in Roanoke to Newport news/Norfolk? Does Roanoke have warmer winters and summers?

Thanks!

I know that for the past few (5 or so) years, the NN/Norfolk area has hardly gotten any significant amount of snow or ice. The winters have been very mild lately. Growing up in NN, we used to get one or two good snow storms a year but that doesn't happen anymore....

Roanoke is about the same except they get more precip that NN (guess it is b/c they are further inland...the ocean seems to shield us from a lot of storms in the winter for whatever reason)

But no matter what, they are WAY milder than NH!

[seanpecor]

Originally Posted by MrAllGood

But no matter what, they are WAY milder than NH!

You got that right! I'm from Vermont. Where there is 9 months of winter and 3 months of damn poor sleddin

Sean