Hey, y’all. It’s Amie.

You know what they say—snow that hangs around for a whole week is just waiting for the next snow fall. That’s certainly been the case in Virginia over the past couple of weeks.

The question is, what’s causing so many back-to-back winter storms across such a wide swath of land? Keep reading for the answer (with the coolest winter weather name ever), and remember, I’m so glad you’re here.

A woman shovels a sidewalk along Bernard Street after a storm hit the area on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, in Alexandria, Va. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

By Jessica F. Simmons

Here’s what you need to know: Over the weekend, a storm system rapidly intensified into what meteorologists call a “bomb cyclone” and barreled up the East Coast, leaving heavy snow, fierce winds, and dangerous travel conditions from the Carolinas into New England. 

Top facts:

• A bomb cyclone isn’t a hurricane, and it isn’t a typical snowstorm. It’s a term used by weather experts to describe a rapidly strengthening low-pressure storm. It’s also one whose central pressure drops by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours—a process the National Ocean Service calls “bombogenesis.”

• The result is a potent mix of high winds, heavy precipitation, and rapidly changing conditions. Climate change does not cause individual storms on its own, but scientists say it influences how often they happen and how intense and disruptive storms become.

• According to climate scientists interviewed by The New York Times, a warming Arctic may be altering the jet stream, the fast-moving band of winds that usually keeps cold air locked near the North Pole. The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, potentially weakening the jet stream and allowing cold air to dip farther south more often and linger longer.

Having winter weather woes? We’re sharing more on the changing climate at the link below.

The Virginia Capitol is seen March 4, 2010, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

By Michael O’Connor

A Virginia Senate committee recently pushed forward a series of bills aimed at strengthening the rights of workers. 

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted 8-6 on party lines to advance a bill to repeal Virginia’s ban on collective bargaining for state employees and other public-sector workers. 

The bill, Senate Bill 378, now goes to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. An identical bill in the House is also working its way through that chamber. Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) is carrying the bill in the Senate and serves on the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. 

Expanding collective bargaining rights to over 500,000 public-sector workers, including teachers, firefighters, home care workers and campus workers, is a top priority for labor unions in the state and many Democrats. 

Current Virginia law allows public school employees and local government workers to collectively bargain, but only if their local government or school board passes a measure permitting them to do so. Senate Bill 378 would give local employees throughout Virginia the right to collectively bargain without need of those local measures. 

Born in Hampton, Allen Iverson went on to play 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. The Philadelphia 76ers team member also made the 2004 Olympic team, earning a bronze medal in Athens. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

By Aila Boyd

Today, we’re starting a new weekly series on Virginia’s top NBA stars, and we’re kicking it off with Allen Iverson—such a well-known NBA figure in Virginia that former Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared March 5, 2024, as Allen Iverson Day in the commonwealth. 

In signing the proclamation, Youngkin pointed to Iverson’s success in the NBA and his contributions to the Hampton Roads community.

Iverson, who was born in Hampton in 1975, played in the NBA for more than a decade from 1996 to 2010. The guard had stents with the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies over the course of his 914-game career. During that time, he accumulated a number of accolades, including being named the 1997 Rookie of the Year, the 2001 NBA MVP, and an NBA All-Star 11 times. 

He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. His points-per-game average average was an impressive 26.7. Iverson is remembered for bringing a hip-hop fashion influence to the NBA.

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