‘Pretty wild’: Central Virginians get weather whiplash as snow falls after record-high temperatures

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Thursday afternoon's snow shocked some Central Virginians, as it came on the heels of several days of warm temperatures -- including record-highs in the 80s.

"It's pretty wild," said Mike Joynes of Bon Air. "We knew what was going to happen, but still, even though you see it on the forecast ... it's hard to believe when it's 70 and that warm all week."

Temperatures dropped to the 30s on Thursday, March 12, and about a two-hour snowfall came with it. 8News spoke with locals who were bundling up in winter coats after sporting short sleeves throughout the past week.

"I actually just took my daughter a winter coat at school, so that when she comes home on the bus, she's not in shorts and a t-shirt," said Sarah Rohrer. "We put up soccer nets in our front yard, and we were playing outside. We went bike riding, scooters, took our dog on a long walk. Now, we're going to be stuck inside, where we'll just switch to winter sports. I suppose we'll have a sled out and such."

MORE: Snowfall surprises Central Virginia after warm weather

StormTracker8 Chief Meteorologist Matt DiNardo explained "why" Central Virginia was subjected to this weather whiplash on our Beyond the Forecast podcast on Thursday.

"Once that [cold front] slid on through, that was it -- it was just 'game on,'" DiNardo said.

By the late afternoon on Thursday, however, the snow began to melt away -- like it never happened.

Watching it all come down, Joynes, who owns Natural Progression Landscaping in Greater Richmond, says he's planning his Friday at work by ear.

"I don't think this will be a big setback, but I don't know how much we'll get done tomorrow," Joynes said. "We'll see."