UPDATES: School closings, power outages and road conditions — What we know now

Laura Peters , Jeff Schwaner | The News Leader

STAUNTON - Trees in the road, and cows in a restaurant parking lot in Waynesboro.

And one in four residents out of power.

As of 11:00 p.m. about 30,000 people remained out of power across The News Leader's readership area.

After 1,300 people lost power in the first half of the 10 p.m. hour, almost 2,000 residents in Staunton and Augusta County regained power by 10:45 p.m., according to numbers on Dominion's outage web page.

As of 10:30 p.m., another 800 residents of Augusta County and 500 more in Waynesboro had lost power. Outage numbers for Staunton rose by a handful in the last hour.

A VDOT release received at 10:10 p.m. outlined current road conditions:

Interstate 64 – Minor conditions in Rockbridge County. Clear conditions in Alleghany and Augusta counties.

Interstate 81 – Minor conditions in Rockbridge, Shenandoah and Frederick counties. Clear conditions in Augusta and Rockingham counties.

Primary roads – Minor conditions in Highland, Bath, Rockbridge, Augusta, Rockingham and Page counties. Clear conditions in Alleghany County.

Secondary roads – Moderate conditions in Page, Clarke, Warren, Frederick, Shenandoah, Rockingham, Augusta and Rockbridge counties.

If you still have power, that about brings you up to date.

Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative reported around 9:25 p.m. that over 5,000 of their member-owners are also without power in Augusta County. That means that over 30,000 residents are facing power outages throughout the county and cities.

News Leader reporter Tom Jacobs says power just went out at 9 p.m. around North Coalter near the high school.

Just after 9 p.m. Waynesboro City Schools announced that due to the extensive power outages in the city, schools would be closed on Friday.

Augusta County Schools and Staunton City Schools also announced they would be closed Friday, after first announcing a 2 hour delay, according to their websites.

Meanwhile, the number of people affected by power outages has crept up. Those numbers are updated below.

Hundreds more lost power in Staunton between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., according to Dominion's outage page.

Thursday's winter storm brought lots of sleet, freezing rain, snow and ice to the Shenandoah Valley. Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro schools closed for Thursday due to the impending forecast.

The storm also knocked out a significant amount of power in the area.

The evening has brought additional outages.

As of 9:30 p.m. the temperature is hovering right at 32 degrees F. Over 30,000 are without power throughout Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County.

According to Dominion's power outage map, crews are yet to be sent to areas representing thousands of homes without power.

Here's what we know now:

School closings/delays

Staunton City Schools — CLOSED.

Augusta County Public Schools — CLOSED

Waynesboro City Schools — CLOSED

Stuart Hall School — 2 hour delay Friday

Power outages

As of 11:15 p.m. according to Dominion Energy

Staunton — 5,752

Waynesboro — 9,718

Augusta County — 8,234

Check outages here.

News Director William Ramsey has been without power in Waynesboro since Thursday afternoon around 1 p.m.

Ramsey reported that as of 7 p.m. there are a lot of trees down. "Some are lying on the side of 250 and in the neighborhoods there are plenty more."

“I would say that half of the businesses in Waynesboro might be without power," said Ramsey.

He said that power is out in businesses and neighborhoods all along U.S. 250 in Waynesboro as you come into town from the west. People have been running generators at home if they have them and others are piling into Starbucks for free Wi-Fi electricity and the ability to purchase something hot to drink, Ramsey said.

People in the surrounding areas including the county are dealing with lots of limbs and trees down due to ice.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, power went out on Beverley Street in downtown Staunton. Many reported a huge boom sound and then suddenly no power.

More: Ice and sleet to subside by Friday

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More: Augusta County's bus driver deficit

Follow Laura Peters @peterslaura and @peterpants. You can reach her at lpeters@newsleader.com or 213-9125.