On Monday January 3, Virginia’s weather threw another loop in the forecast resulting in reportedly 12 inches or more of snow. The new year started off as an unexpected week with hundreds of drivers stranded on I-95 overnight and thousands of people losing power including 98% of Louisa County being without power at one point. 

  Since Virginia’s weather is never reliable, few were prepared for Snowstorm Frida. A warming station was opened up by the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office at Louisa County Middle School and Holly Grove Fire Department. Many found themselves taking their families and staying in hotels. 

  “I was out of power for five days and it was really hard because I was freezing just sitting on the couch with a ton of blankets on, waiting for the power to come back on,” said junior Madison Corral. 

    Due to Louisa being out of power, all stores were closed and Sheetz had long lines since it was the only place to get gas. The Louisa Resource Council opened up to provide food and water to all those in need, client or not. 

  Governor Northam declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, two days after the storm, and right before the second snowstorm was supposed to hit on Friday morning. This second “storm” was less destructive, only resulting in a couple inches of snow. 

  Linemen worked long, cold hours to restore the power, with Central Virginia Electric Cooperative finishing the last power line eight days after the storm, on January 11 and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative finishing nine days later, on January 12. Power companies from North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and other places were sent in to assist Virginia linemen with the outage recovery. 

  Snow removal workers and public safety personnel were also crucial heroes with roads being covered with snow and ice, making it dangerous to travel on and a record number of trees being down. Travel was hazardous with cars sliding into ditches, wrecking, and drivers having to reroute multiple times. 

  “Personally, I have never seen a snowstorm this bad. In 2013, when I was a senior in high school, there was a snowstorm in which we were out of school for a week, but I still don’t think it was this bad,” said LCHS English Teacher, Katie Barnes. 

  With the forecast of eight inches or more hitting again on Sunday, January 16, make sure to have generators, food, water, and gas ready. If reports are as accurate as they appear, this could, unfortunately, do more damage than Frida.