Gov. Bob McDonnell warned this afternoon that areas of the state that have been hit hard by a late-winter storm may experience even worse conditions as high winds and heavy, wet snow continue. The governor declared a state of emergency earlier today, and state government offices closed at 1 p.m.

"The storm is not at all over," McDonnell said in a news conference this afternoon. "There is a lull in certain areas, but that's the nature of these kinds of coastal storms."

McDonnell said state officials expect additional "heavy bands" of snow to hit areas north of Interstate 64 and west of Interstate 95, the parts of the state that have borne the brunt of the storm so far. Nearly 200,000 utility customers throughout the state were without power this afternoon, McDonnell said in a 1 p.m. news conference. Appalachian Power is reporting fewer than 5,600 outages, none of them in Southwest Virginia.

"It's the combination of heavy, wet snow and wind that causes us to believe there will be significant, additional power outages," McDonnell said. "I mentioned 200,000 customers. We anticipate that number going up, and perhaps dramatically, this afternoon - all depending on that combination of snow and wind.

Snow accumulations have been as great as 18 inches in Augusta County and 17 inches Rockingham County, the governor said.

The Virginia State Police had responded to 367 traffic wrecks during the storm as of early this afternoon, but no fatalities were reported.

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