Winter Storm Gia did not bring as much snow to the Heart of Virginia as its predecessor, Winter Storm Diego in December, but the storm brought a substantial amount of sleet and freezing rain over the weekend. The resulting ice on tree limbs and power lines caused numerous outages, downed trees and school cancellations for households in Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward County.

Radio Station WFLO estimates that the Farmville area received .025 snow/sleet and 94/100s liquid. WFLO representative Chris Brochon explained that the figure 94/100s is the precipitation measurement when the snow or ice is melted down.

An observed snowfall analysis from the National Weather Service in Wakefield estimates that the areas of Prince Edward, Cumberland and Dillwyn received between 1-2 inches of snow.

Power company Southside Electric Cooperative (SEC) estimated that at the height of the storm, nearly 11,000 of its customers were without power. SEC, over the weekend, warned customers that it may be days before power is restored.

The number of households without power in Prince Edward and Meherrin reached more than 2,000 over the weekend between SEC, Dominion Energy and Central Virginia Electric Cooperative.

As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, SEC estimated that there were approximately 1,200 customers without power. The company is working with mutual aid crews to restore power.

Dominion and CVEC, due to trees fallen on Dominion’s Pamplin and Mt. Rush substation sites have caused numerous outages in Buckingham and Prince Edward.

As of Tuesday morning, the Virginia Department of Transportation reported road conditions in the three counties as minor, citing only icy patches in some areas.

The exception is Route 699, New Hope Road, in Cumberland, which is closed due to flooding. It’s not clear whether the flooding was caused by the weekend storm.

Virginia State Police reported that during the course of the storm, or from midnight to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, crew responded to 324 traffic crashes and assisted 196 disabled/stuck motorists statewide, not to mention the 44 traffic crashes and 11 disabled vehicles studied as of the time that the release was issued.

There were three crashes over the weekend that resulted in fatalities, including the death of a 16-year-old passenger in Brunswick County.

According to findings from VSP, these are the number of traffic crashes and disabled vehicles state police troopers responded by division. The Appomattox Division includes Prince Edward, Buckingham and Cumberland counties:

Richmond Division: 107 traffic crashes & 29 disabled vehicles

Culpeper Division: 40 traffic crashes & 30 disabled vehicles

Appomattox Division: 28 traffic crashes & 13 disabled vehicles

Wytheville Division: 12 traffic crashes & 4 disabled vehicles

Chesapeake Division: 49 traffic crashes & 21 disabled vehicles

Salem Division: 18 traffic crashes and 18 disabled vehicles

Fairfax Division: 68 traffic crashes and 81 disabled vehicles

Farmville Fire Department Chief Dean Farmer said the department received 12 calls for service, and noted that 10 of those calls occurred on Sunday.

Two calls for service Sunday morning were weather related.

“We encourage everyone to use caution while traveling, also ensure you have working smoke detectors in your home,” Farmer said.