Virginia"s governor declared a state of emergency Friday as a winter storm expected to pummel the East Coast this weekend began dumping snow in Virginia and North Carolina. The storm is forecast to blast a narrow corridor from Richmond, Virginia, to Fredericksville, Pennsylvania, leaving interstates 95, 81, 64 and possibly 80 covered in significant snow, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said. Meyers said areas like Charlottesville, Virginia, may rake in some of the highest snowfall accumulations, depending on how quickly the storm moves and whether it remains on course. Roads in the Western part of Virginia are already bad, with lots of accidents being reported, said Bob Spieldenner, Director of Public Affairs at the Virginia Department of Emergency. The Virginia State Police said Friday night at around 8 p.m. they were working 335 accidents. The hardest hit area so far was in Roanoke, Virginia, along I-81, a spokesman with the Virginia Department of Transportation said. The Roanoke Regional Airport said it had cancelled all remaining flights for Friday night. An accident on I-26 in Western North Carolina has closed the entire interstate, and some drivers have been stuck so long on the road they have run out of fuel, according to CNN affiliate WSPA-TV. Power lines in the area were also beginning to fall and at least 38,000 residents were without power as of 7 p.m., WSPA reported. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said it was receiving high volumes of calls for service, either for accidents, stranded motorists or cars that ran off the road. Sgt. Jeff Gordon said that as of 10 p.m. Friday night the highway patrol had received 682 calls in the Asheville area, 623 calls in Newton, 682 calls in Salisbury and 513 calls in the Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point areas. I-77 near U.S. 21 was also blocked, Gordon said, because of a tractor-trailer jackknife. Gordon said there was about 8 to 12 inches of snow in Asheville. Snowfall differed across the state, he said, with 6 to 8 inches a couple of hours to the east of Asheville and only cold rain east of Raleigh.
