Those looking forward to a big snowstorm were disappointed this week, as the first accumulating snow of the year left only a dusting in Gloucester and Mathews counties and much of it was long gone before the end of the day Tuesday.

Southern portions of Virginia, including the Middle Peninsula, escaped the wrath of what forecasters have dubbed the “Blizzard of 2015.”

Local residents woke up Tuesday morning to just a dusting of snow, mostly on grassy surfaces, while points farther north, including Boston and the eastern reaches of New York’s Long Island, saw upwards of two feet of snow, accompanied by strong winds and tidal flooding.

This week’s storm, which made headlines nationwide, was due to a low pressure system that intensified off the Atlantic coast as it moved north toward the New England states.

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the Middle Peninsula and surrounding localities that was in effect Monday night through Tues...