Periods of freezing rain overnight Tuesday caused a number of problems for residents of the Middle Peninsula as they woke up Wednesday morning.

A number of motor vehicle accidents were reported on local highways as motorists made their way to work in the slippery conditions. Power outages were also on the increase Wednesday morning as trees and limbs succumbed to the weight the layer of ice on them.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dominion Virginia Power was reporting 2,067 of its customers in Gloucester were without power, while 1,716 customers in Mathews were without power.

Both Gloucester and Mathews schools started out Wednesday morning operating on a two-hour delay. However, by 8:30, school superintendent Dave Holleran made the call that Mathews County Public Schools would close for the day.

County offices in Mathews opened two hours late on Wednesday morning; Gloucester County offices opened on time.

The National Weather Service had issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Gloucester and Mathews, which remained in effect until 1 p.m. Wednesday, when the coastal low pressure system that brought the winter weather was expected to have moved well off the coast.

Initial NWS reports showed between one to two-tenths of an inch of ice fell on the region, and paired with gusty winds, caused many of the power outages that were reported Wednesday morning.

Temperatures Wednesday were forecast to barely reach above the freezing mark, with a high of 33.

The weather forecast improves for the remainder of the week with sunny skies expected into the weekend and daytime highs reaching into the upper 40s to mid-50s.