Our weather is delightful

Gouri Raval said the dozen or so people in her parents' house, including relatives from Maryland, needed to get out.

"We wanted to be lazy in the morning, but the weather was so nice that we got pushed out of the house and into the park," she said, as she watched relatives play cricket at Deep Run Park in Henrico County.

With sunny skies and temperatures approaching 60 degrees, the park hosted picnics, walks with the family and the dogs and games of football, soccer and Frisbee.

If it weren't for the naked trees around busy fields, playgrounds and trails, winter could have been mistaken for spring.

Anil Prayag, who came with family from Maryland to visit his wife's sister, was enjoying the sunny Christmas.

"We hope the next two months are also going to be like this," he said, while waiting for someone to bat.

David and Yvonne Fall, their son, Austin, and dog were near a pond enjoying the warm weather. The family moved from snowy Pennsylvania to Henrico a couple of years ago.

"We don't miss that," Yvonne Fall said.

"Not even a little," David Fall added, as he held his dog on a leash. Austin, 9, was feeding breadcrumbs to the geese and proudly pulled out an electronic dictionary he received for Christmas.

"I got lots of things, cool things," he said, including a coupon for a Wii video game, which he was looking forward to buying today.

Eric Brenner, 8, who was riding a bike with his father, observes Hanukkah, which started Sunday and ends on Monday.

And, this past Monday was his birthday.

"I got a double gift," he said.

His father, Alex Brenner, said they visit the park often because it backs up to their house.

"For us, it's an advantage," he said. "We can do this every day, especially today, now that we finally have some sun."

Jenna Elaridi, who was eating snacks at a picnic table with her husband, Faysal, and three children, said she wanted snow for Christmas but that the family made the best of a warm holiday by coming to the park on the spur of the moment.

"Since all the stores are closed and the mall is closed, we came by the park and saw a lot of people and we decided to stop by and take a walk."

. . .

Elsewhere, deep snow was still causing travel problems on Christmas Day in the West, where the National Weather Service posted winter storm warnings and advisories for large sections. A blizzard warning for the San Juan mountains in southwest Colorado noted as much as 3 feet of snow was possible.

Nationwide, at least 30 people were killed Tuesday and Wednesday in crashes on rainand ice-slickened roads, many in the country's midsection.

Nearly a dozen flights were canceled yesterday at O'Hare, but no delays were reported. Chicago's Midway International Airport had no delays or cancellations, according to the aviation department.

The forecast for central Virginia calls for a chance of rain today, tomorrow and Sunday and warmer-than-average temperatures for the next three days. Contact staff writer Juan Antonio Lizama at or (804) 649-6513.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.