A Look Back at 10 of UVA’s Most Memorable Snowfalls

By Skylar Frederick, saf8r@virginia.edu

March 13, 2017

The Rotunda in the snow with two people playing on the lawn

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on UVA Today on Jan. 21, 2016.

The University of Virginia’s McCormick Observatory has kept official snowfall records since 1894. Here’s a look at some of the largest recorded snowfalls in UVA’s history, as documented by photography and newspaper records.

1. Jan. 27-28, 1922 — 24.0 inches

January 28, 1922 The Daily Progress newspaper

To date, this is the largest recorded snowfall in Charlottesville history. The Charlottesville Daily Progress reported “traffic by auto almost completely suspended and electric cars unable to run.” Records indicate it was later dubbed “the Knickerbocker Storm.”

2. Jan. 7-8, 1996 — 21.0 inches

Black and white image of the Rotunda and lawn covered in snow

Area schools were closed for an entire week, but fortunately, the University was between semesters – and January Term had not yet been instituted.

3. Dec. 19-20, 2009 — 20.5 inches

Giant pile of snow from the Chipotle parking lot

Image via Mount Chipotle National Research Laboratory

This storm gave rise to the infamous student-created “Mount Chipotle National Research Laboratory,” named for a massive pile of plowed snow in Barracks Road Shopping Center near a certain fast-food establishment. The students maintained a pool seeking predictions on when the pile would finally melt. The group’s blog still exists online.