10 MEMORABLE UVA SNOWSTORMS

Here’s a look at some of the largest recorded snowfalls in UVA’s history, as documented by photography and newspaper records.



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



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.”

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2. Jan. 7-8, 1996 — 21.0 inches



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



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. {edited: no, it doesn't. Maybe someone still maintains it, but the link doesn't work anymore.}

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10. Feb. 2-3, 1996 — 14.0 inches



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Mount Barracks? (or Mount Chipotle?)

Posted on February 15, 2010 by D. Hudson



So you guys know that huge snow mountain right next to the Chipotle in the Barracks Road Shopping Center? Well, just like almost every celebrity and pop-culture icon today, that mountain has its own Facebook fan page, as I learned earlier today.

The Facebook page (which already has 1,785 fans at the time of this post) refers to the mountain as Mt. Barracks, although many others like to call it Mt. Chipotle. Either way, it’s crazy. UVa graduate students actually measured the mountain at 39.758 feet tall, according to the page. And get this: not only does the mountain have its own FB fan page, but it also has its own official blog, entitled “Mount Chipotle National Research Observatory.” And that blog is EXTRA official. One fan, A.J. Maher, also posted a link to his aerial survey of the mountain, which contains some crazy pictures of the mountain from the air (which can be seen later in this post).

Mt. Barracks, Mt. Chipotle, The Ice Mountain at Barracks Road, Mt. Fuji on Barracks… whatever you want to call it, there’s one fact that’s not debatable: “it’s still big as hell and deserves a page,” as is so eloquently expressed on the fan page. And I agree. No one is exactly sure when the larger-than-life snow mountain will melt, but it will always live on in the hearts and minds of both UVa students and Charlottesville residents.

(Check out some pictures from A.J. Maher’s aforementioned aerial survey after the jump.) {edited: sorry, not anymore}







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