Virginia residents compare snow storm to life in Indiana

ROANOKE, VA (WISH) – As people were buried in snow in Virginia, many tried to compare it to totals in the Hoosier State, but it’s not necessarily true.

“I wanted this to happen, but I didn’t want it to happen,” Virginia resident Roberto Hammonds said. “After it happened, I want it to just go away.”

Roanoke, Virginia, received about a foot of snow from Friday to Saturday. Other parts of the east coast received even more.

As the snow mounted, 24-Hour News 8 was there to film it. And when we told people were from the Hoosier State, they thought it was like any other day for us.

“I’m sure the people in Indianapolis do get a lot of snow, but my experience is, we’re not used to it here, and certainly people on the roads aren’t used to it,” Virginia resident Jim Thacker said.

That’s not necessarily true. Roanoke received 13 inches of snow during the storm.

That’s nearly double what Indianapolis has received this entire winter. There is a difference though in how quickly the snow gets removed.

In Roanoke, the city has 150 plow drivers. In the Circle City, it’s nearly 300. With fewer resources, and more snow, people in Virginia were right that they were in for a long weekend.

“Even though I do think Roanoke can handle it well, it is a challenge because it is more than what we normally get,” Virginia resident Dillon Anderson said.

“Normally we just don’t have that much snow,” Virginia resident Gary Brunk said. “I can remember, last winter for example, maybe we had one with four or five inches. The other time, you could still see the grass showing through.”

People there aren’t going to have to deal with piles of snow forever. The temperature Monday was in the 40’s.