No warm mellow glow from Christmas shone over Gloucester and Mathews counties in the last week of December, 1998.
Instead, residents shivered in the aftermath of an epic ice storm that turned the holiday to misery in every corner of this part of the world. Anyone over 30 who was here then probably has memories of those cold, dark days, waiting for electrical power to be restored.
The Gazette-Journal of Dec. 24 included a National Weather Service forecast that gave scant indication of what lay ahead. “A white Christmas is not in the forecast” however “Sleet, rain and freezing rain are likely today.” The freezing rain forecast was accurate, but there was no prediction of how long it would last or the havoc it would cause.
We recall those days now from the columns of our newspapers that came out one week later, on Thursday, Dec. 31, 1998, and in a final report made on Thursday, Jan. 7, 1999. The power had been restored in many sections by December 31, including in Gloucester Court House, ...