We know it’s been warm, and most of us may want to leave winter in the past, but it’s time to address the impact of the January 2026 winter storms.
The City of Richmond just released an after-action report, which compiles data on the city’s fiscal and emergency responses throughout the back-to-back storms that kicked off the year. We’re going to summarize the key points so you don’t have to read all 41 pages in the report.
The report includes actions before, during, and after Fern and Gianna occurred in late January and early February. Let’s thaw out the numbers.
Weather records
- Total snowfall: 3 to 8 inches
- Total ice accumulation: 0.3-0.85 inches
- Lowest recorded temperature: 9 degrees
Cost
Approximately $4 million in expenditures was allocated toward “reasonable, necessary, and storm-related costs” directly attributed to the storms.
Road treatments
- 6,000 tons of salt
- 2,000 tons of salt/salt mixture
- 5,000 gallons of liquid brine
- 80 trucks
- 240 personnel
- 7,400 total lane miles covered
The report notes delays during the first round of road pre-treatments, from Wednesday, Jan. 21 through Saturday, Jan. 24. Those delays affected the number of Priority 3 neighborhood roads initially treated. Additionally, road treatment strategies did not anticipate prolonged low temperatures throughout the storms (the most effective tool to combat ice), which “severely impacted recovery efforts.”
“When snow is accompanied or followed by ice, though, the same roads that originally were plowed will then require a chemical application, which means the same road must be addressed at least two times,” according to the formal report.
Emergency response
- The city received ~3,100 calls to 911, and 95-97% were reportedly answered within 20 second of less.
- RVA311 received ~8,500 calls.
- City operations and partnering nonprofits served a total of 2,350 residents across 11 emergency shelter activation days.
Areas of improvement
The City of Richmond made note of three key areas of improvement in consideration of the after-action report.
1. Gaps in equipment, staffing, and communication regarding:
- Snow removal tools and resources
- Tracking resource requests within the Emergency Operations Center
- Staffing and transportation for Emergency Shelter activation
2. Needed investments for strengthening future storm response regarding:
- Advanced hotel and transportation planning
- Wraparound service provision for the Emergency Shelter
- Continued training for equipment operators, and investments in equipment storage.
3. Supporting community preparedness regarding
- Proactive signage discouraging skating on frozen park lakes
- Additional coordination with faith-based organizations and partners to support shelter activities
- Increased communication with homeless populations.
