As had been typical through much of the later half of the winter season across the eastern U.S., unseasonably cold air was in place across the region once again.  Morning low temperatures on this day were in the 20s across western Virginia with 30s in the Piedmont.  Meanwhile, a strong upper-level low pressure area in the southern stream was moving toward the region from the Mid-South.  A cold front was stalled along the Georgia and South Carolina Coast with a wave of surface low pressure tracking northeastward along the front near the Georgia Coast.  This was near a perfect setup for a heavy snow event across Southwest and West Central Virginia.  Dynamic cooling associated with the strong upper low caused any rain or sleet at the onset of the event to quickly change to snow.  The snow came down very heavily during the evening rush hour.
Evening rush hour traffic was snarled and came to a standstill in many areas as the heavy snow piled up on the roads.  There were numerous accidents also resulting in shut down roads and highways, including Interstate 81 in Wythe County and in Botetourt county near Fincastle, on Interstate 77 near Fancy Gap, U.S. 460 in Christiansburg, and U.S. 220 in Henry County near Martinsville.  The heaviest snow hit the New River Valley area from Wytheville northeast to Radford and Blacksburg, where five to seven inches of snow were common.
Alleghany County - 1.5 inches of snow Clifton Forge to 2.0 inches at Jordan Mines,
Bath County - 1.0 inche of snow in Warm Springs,
Bedford County - 1.5 inches of snow in Hardy to 2.5 inches of snow in Huddleston,
Bland County - 2.5 inches of snow in Bastian and Bland,
Botetourt County - 1.5 inches of snow in Fincastle to 2.0 inches in Eagle Rock,
Campbell County - 1/4 inch of snow in Gladys,
Carroll County - 3.0 inches of snow in Hillsville to 3.5 inches in Hebron,
City of Galax - 3.0 inches of snow,
City of Lexington - 1/2 inch of snow,
City of Lynchburg - 1/2 inch of snow,
City of Radford - 5.0 inches of snow,
City of Roanoke - 3.0 inches of snow,
City of Salem - 3.0 inches of snow,
Craig County - 5.5 inches of snow 1W New Castle and in Simmonsville,
Floyd County - 2.0 inches of snow in Floyd to 6.0 inches in Copper Hill,
Franklin County - 1/4 inch of snow/sleet mixture 4NE Ferrum to 3 1/2 inches of snow in Algoma,
Giles County - 3.5 inches of snow in Rich Creek to 5.0 inches in Newport,
Grayson County - 1.0 inch of snow in Elk Creek to 4.0 inches in Fries,
Henry County - 1.0 inch in Figsboro,
Montgomery County - 2 1/2 inches in Elliston to 7 in McCoy and on Brush Mountain,
Patrick County - 0.5 inch 10NNE Stuart to 2.0 inches at Rocky Knob Recreation Area,
Pulaski County - 3.5 inches at Snowville to 7.0 inches at New River near Dublin,
Roanoke County - 2.5 inches at Cave Spring to 4.0 inches at Kings Forest,
Rockbridge County - 1/2 inch at Goshen to 3/4 inch at Glasgow,
Smyth County - 1/2 inch 3NE Marion,
Wythe County - 3.0 inches at Austinville to 6.0 inches at Wytheville.

Heavy Snow in PULASKI, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 14:45:00 to 04-APR-13 19:15:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Snowfall ranged from 3.0 inches in Draper to nearly 7.0 inches in New River, just southwest of Dublin.

Heavy Snow in MONTGOMERY, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 14:45:00 to 04-APR-13 19:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Snowfall ranged from 2 to 3 inches in the Elliston area to around 7.0 inches at McCoy and in the Preston Forest Subdivision on Brush Mountain north of Blacksburg.  5 1/2 inches of snow was observed in the City of Radford.

Heavy Snow in GILES, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 14:30:00 to 04-APR-13 19:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Snowfall ranged from around 4.0 inches in Rich Creek and Narrows to 5.0 inches in Newport as reported by the public and trained spotters.

Heavy Snow in CRAIG, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 14:45:00 to 04-APR-13 20:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A storm spotter reported 5 1/2 inches of snow in Simmonsville while the public reported 5 1/2 inches of snow just west of New Castle.

Winter Weather in ALLEGHANY, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 16:00:00 to 04-APR-13 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Snowfall of 1.5 inches in Clifton Forge to 2.0 inches in Jordan Mines was reported by law enforcement personnel.

Winter Weather in BATH, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 16:30:00 to 04-APR-13 22:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: County Official

The Bath County 911 Center observed 1.0 inch of snowfall in Warm Springs.

Winter Weather in BEDFORD, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 15:30:00 to 04-APR-13 21:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snowfall of 1.5 inches was observed in Hardy to 2.5 inches in Huddleston as reported by a trained spotter and the public.

Winter Weather in BLAND, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 13:00:00 to 04-APR-13 18:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: County Official

The Bland County 911 Center reported 2.5 inches of snow in Bland and Bastian.

Winter Weather in BOTETOURT, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 16:00:00 to 04-APR-13 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Snowfall of 1.5 to 2.0 inches was reported from Eagle Rock, Laymantown, and Fincastle by spotters and the public.

Winter Weather in CAMPBELL, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 17:00:00 to 04-APR-13 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter observed 1/4 inch of snow/sleet mixture in Gladys.  About 1/3 inch of snow/sleet was observed in the City of Lynchburg.

Winter Weather in CARROLL, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 15:00:00 to 04-APR-13 18:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snowfall of 3.0 to 3.5 inches was observed in Galax, Hillsville, and Hebron by trained spotters and the public.

Winter Weather in FRANKLIN, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 15:30:00 to 04-APR-13 19:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Snowfall of less than 1/2 inch in Ferrum to 3 1/3 inches in Algoma.  Most parts of the county had 1.5 to 2.5 inches as reported by the public and trained spotters.

Winter Weather in GRAYSON, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 13:30:00 to 04-APR-13 18:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snowfall of 1.0 in Elk Creek to 3.0 inches in Fries was observed by trained spotters and the public.  Some sleet was noted in parts of the county.

Winter Weather in HENRY, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 15:00:00 to 04-APR-13 19:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

The public observed 1.0 inches of snow in the Figsboro area.

Winter Weather in PATRICK, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 15:00:00 to 04-APR-13 19:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

The State Park Service observed 2.0 inches of snow in the Rocky Knob Recreation Area while a trained spotter only observed 1.2 inch of snow 10 miles north-northeast of Stuart.

Winter Weather in ROANOKE, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 15:00:00 to 04-APR-13 20:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Snowfall ranged from 3.0 to 4.0 inches in the western part of the county, including the City of Salem and the City of Roanoke and 3.0 inches in Cave Spring upwards to 4.0 inches in Kings Forest as reported by the public.

Winter Weather in ROCKBRIDGE, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 16:00:00 to 04-APR-13 21:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A National Weather Service Cooperative Observer reported 3/4 inch of snow from Glasgow, while the County 911 Center relayed a report of 1/2 inch from Goshen.

Winter Weather in SMYTH, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 13:00:00 to 04-APR-13 17:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

The public observed only 1/2 inch of snow.  Much of the time the precipitation was mixed with rain.

Heavy Snow in WYTHE, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 14:30:00 to 04-APR-13 19:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Snowfall across Wythe County ranged from 3.0 inches in Austinville to 6.0 inches in Wytheville as reported by the public and the Broadcast Media.

Heavy Snow in FLOYD, VIRGINIA
From 04-APR-13 14:30:00 to 04-APR-13 19:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

The public observed snowfall of 6.0 inches at Copper Hill.  Snowfall elsewhere around the county was generally in the 1.0 to 3.0 inch range from Alum Ridge to Indian Valley and Check.