As snow began falling again over the Blue Ridge mountains in southwestern Virginia on Saturday 12/19, independent business owners manned snow plows to try to clear their parking lots  before predicted freezing Saturay night temperatures froze them again.  Truck and 4 wheel drivers braved clearerd side roads to try to squeeze in last minute shopping, but cars are still hiding in white snow mounds, buried and abandoned along roadways. UPS drivers were not only trying to make their way safely through the automobile clogged roads Friday afternoon to deliver Christmas presents, but at least one driver was seen assisting with a typical blizzard induced traffic jam.  Cars got stuck trying to climb the many hills and were forced to back down again, into the rush hour clogged roads.  This resourceful UPS driver stopped his truck, halting traffic and keeping the area clear until the sliding car had backed down the hill safely and the other cars could continue to creep their way to their destinations.

Temperatures inched up just enough to melt snow in the afternoon, which will surely form ice on the wet, snowy roads and dampen efforts of car owners to dig their vehicles out of their snow graves. Local news reported that the average annual snowfall in Roanoke is a mere 22.9 inches, but on Friday and Satruday morning over 16" of snow fell in less than 24 hours, setting a record.