Power outages | Transportation | Cancellations/closings | Weather Journal updates | Friday's updates

OVERVIEW [Updated: 1:51 p.m. Saturday]

Floyd, Montgomery and Patrick counties have been hit hardest by snow, according to unofficial inch counts from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.

Martinsville and Henry County residents have suffered the most from power outages, and Martinsville officials have opened an emergency shelter for residents without electricity.

The shelter opened at noon today at the Martinsville Middle School at 201 Brown Street, according to a voice message at the Martinsville city offices.

Those seeking shelter should call (276) 403-5425 as soon as possible, as travel is expected to be hampered by continued precipitation tonight. People are also asked to bring their personal hygiene items and necessary medications with them. Shower facilities would not be available, the message said.

Winter ice storms have knocked out power to more than 16,000 homes and businesses in Henry County.

Roanoke's official snow total for Thursday was 8.3 inches and Blacksburg's was 8.7 inches, with additional snow falling today.

Parts of Patrick County received slightly less than a foot of snow. Cooper Hill in Floyd County received 11 inches, as did the McCoy section of Montgomery County. The town of Pulaski was blanketed with 10 inches.

[Browse inch counts for Virginia and West Virginia.]

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POWER OUTAGES [Updated: 2:44 a.m. Saturday]

Martinsville and Henry County officials have opened a joint emergency shelter for residents without electricity.

The shelter opened at noon today at the Martinsville Middle School at 201 Brown Street, and about 15 families are so far expected to spend the night, city emergency management coordinator Bob Phillips said.

Red Cross volunteers are staffing the facility, which is set up to accommodate up to 50 people overnight.

"A lot of them have been without power long enough that the houses are really beginning to cool down," Phillips said.

It will also serve as a "warming shelter," where people may come for a cup of coffee and to get warm but don't want to spend the night, Phillips said.

Temperatures are expected to drop into the teens tonight in Martinsville and surrounding areas.

Winter ice storms have knocked out power to more than 16,000 homes and businesses in Henry County. About 800 people were without power in the city, Phillips said.

Electricity is expected to be restored to most of the city by tomorrow, Phillips said. But residents in outlying areas of the county may have to do without until Tuesday, according to Appalachian Power's Web site.

Those seeking shelter should call 276-403-5425 as soon as possible, as travel is expected to be hampered by continued precipitation tonight. People are also asked to bring their personal hygiene items and necessary medications with them. Shower facilities would not be available.

[Updated: 11:51 a.m. Saturday]

Appalachian Power has cut the number of homes and businesses without power to about 26,000, down from a peak of about 40,000 Friday night, but some customers in Franklin and Henry counties won't have electricity until early next week, the utility is reporting on its Web site.

AEP says complete restoration in Franklin County, which is reporting 3,100 outages, isn't expected until Monday night.

In Henry County, where freezing rain wrought havoc on transmission lines, power isn't expected to be restored to all 18,000 affected homes and businesses until Tuesday night.

Isolated outages have been reported in dozens of other counties.

[Visit Appalachian Power's website for a full list of affected areas.]

Snow continues to fall in the Roanoke and New River valleys this morning and is expected to continue into the afternoon or evening.

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TRANSPORTATION [Updated: 11:37 a.m. Saturday]

Roads: The Virginia Department of Transportation says many primary roads are passable. Plow crews plan to turn their attention to secondary roads today, as long as falling and drifting snow doesn't become a problem on primary roads.

Public transportation: The Smart Way bus, which links the Roanoke and New River valleys, is not running today. Blacksburg Transit is operating its regular service in both Blacksburg and Christiansburg.

Airports: Roanoke Regional Airport's runway is open this morning, but some flights have been canceled due to weather conditions elsewhere. [Check your flight status | Get updates from the airport's Twitter feed]

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CANCELLATIONS and CLOSINGS [Updated: 11:33 a.m. Saturday]

Many municipal buildings, such as rec centers, are closed throughout the New River Valley. Pulaski County has already canceled its trash collection for Monday, citing road conditions.

Blacksburg has moved today's trash pickups to Sunday.

Radford University officials announced Saturda that winter commencement ceremonies will go on as scheduled Sunday.

The ceremony is set for 2 p.m. in the Bondurant Auditorium in Preston Hall.

The ceremony was originally scheduled for December, but was canceled because of a snowstorm.

Events: Ongoing list of cancellations and postponements

Classes: Today's class cancellations

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UPDATES FROM KEVIN MYATT'S WEATHER JOURNAL

Join the conversation on Kevin Myatt's Weather Journal blog -- and read his latest updates on the forecast for the rest of the weekend.

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