NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia State Police is asking people to avoiding driving in areas of the state affected by winter weather "unless absolutely necessary."
Monday morning, as heavy rains caused flooding across parts of the Southside, spokeswoman Corinne Geller said troopers were busy helping drivers who ran into problems on the road. Across the state, VSP troopers had responded to 313 crashes and 277 stuck vehicles between midnight and 10:30 a.m.
Some western parts of Virginia got snow early in the morning, and parts of southern Virginia were forecasted to get a wintery mix starting in the afternoon.
In the same midnight to 10:30 a.m. time span, troopers in the Chesapeake Division (which covers Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore) had been called to 30 crashes and 11 disabled vehicles.
"The drive is not worth the risk of a crash, getting stuck, injury to your/passenger, or the cost of a repair," Geller wrote.
If you do have to be on the roads, officials recommend you check out road conditions first by visiting Virginia 511. Make sure you car is clear of snow and ice, use headlights in rain and snow, buckle your seatbelt, put away distractions, and drive slowly, leaving lots of space between your car and the vehicle in front of you.
If your road is flooded, don't drive through it. Six inches of standing water could make you lose control of your vehicle, and two feet of water can carry away most cars.