Author: Dave Mistich

Wintry Weekend Forecasted for Eastern Panhandle, Central & Southern West Virginia

Wintry weather is expected to bring snow and possibly sleet over the course of the weekend, according to advisories posted by the National Weather Service and their outposts around the region.

Their Charleston office has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Randolph and Pocahontas counties from Saturday, December 14 at 4 a.m. to Sunday, December 15 at 1 a.m.

* HAZARD TYPES…ACCUMULATING SNOW AT THE ONSET…CHANGING TO   FREEZING RAIN. * ICE ACCUMULATIONS…ONE TO TWO TENTHS OF AN INCH. * SNOW ACCUMULATIONS…2 TO 4 INCHES. * TIMING…SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE TONIGHT AND WILL TRANSITION TO   SLEET THEN FREEZING RAIN DURING THE AFTERNOON ON SATURDAY. * IMPACTS…ACCUMULATING SNOW ON UNTREATED SURFACES WILL MAKE   DRIVING HAZARDOUS. THE TRANSITION TO FREEZING RAIN WILL FURTHER   COMPLICATE MATTERS WITH ICE BUILDING UP ON ALL SURFACES. THIS   MAY BRING DOWN SMALL BRANCHES FROM TREES AND WILL COULD MAKE   WALKWAYS DANGEROUS AS WELL. POWER OUTAGES MAY OCCUR DUE TO ICE   ACCUMULATING ON POWER LINES. * WINDS…SOUTH 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 MPH. * TEMPERATURES…IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S.  

The Eastern Panhandle is also being asked to be on the lookout for hazardous weather. The National Weather Service’s operation in Sterling, Virginia says to be prepared for snow, sleet, and freezing rain. The Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 5 a.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday for Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, Tucker, Mineral counties.

A previously issued Winter Storm Watch is no longer in effect.

* ACCUMULATIONS…4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW AND SLEET. THE HIGHEST   ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE NEAR THE MASON-DIXON LINE. AROUND ONE   TENTH OF AN INCH OF ICE.   * TIMING…SNOW WILL BEGIN EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE   THROUGH THE DAY. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO MIX WITH AND THEN CHANGE TO   SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN SATURDAY EVENING.   * TEMPERATURES…MID TO UPPER 20S LATE TONIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL   RISE INTO THE UPPER 20S AND LOWER 30S SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY   NIGHT.   * WINDS…NORTHEAST 5 TO 10 MPH LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY THEN   BECOMING NORTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH SATURDAY NIGHT.   * IMPACTS…ROADS WILL BECOME SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY SATURDAY.   FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE ICY CONDITIONS SATURDAY NIGHT. TRAVEL   WILL BE DANGEROUS DURING THIS TIME.  

And parts of southern West Virginia can also expect hazardous weather conditions, according to the National Weather Service’s Blacksburg, Virginia office.

West Virginian Cites Video Game Experience in Application for Coaching Job

Marshall University graduate and systems integration analyst Chris McComas wants to become the next head coach of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux football…

  Marshall University graduate and systems integration analyst Chris McComas wants to become the next head coach of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team. The way he went about applying for the job is genius.

He began his pursuit for the position by emailing Brian Faison, the athletic director of the university. In that email McComas attached a hilarious Powerpoint presentation detailing his coaching philosophy that wasn’t short of brazen confidence.

Sports websites like Deadspin began picking up the story.

McComas even landed an endorsement to become the coach at North Dakota from another popularsports website, SB Nation.

Local media personalities around West Virginia began to rally him on, using the hashtag #chuckthepigskin.

And then media in North Dakota began showing their support.

As did other locals and football enthusiasts.

And then national mainstream media, like ABC World News and CBS Sports, got in on the story.

Thursday morning, McComas was keeping the dream alive, mapping out his go-to Hail Mary.

Even EA Sports, the maker of the Madden and NCAA Football video games, has been getting in on the fun:

Section of I-77 in Mercer Co. to Close Friday for Emergency Repair

The West Virginia Division of Highways will be closing a section of Interstate 77 in Mercer County to allow for controlled blasting of a slipping hillside.

            The I-77 northbound slow lane between mile post 3 and 3.5 has been closed to traffic since December 2, 2013 due to the instability of the hillside. After consulting with a contractor, the WVDOH has decided to address the issue by bringing down the hillside with explosives.

            Interstate 77 from mile post 1 to mile post 9 and a section of WV 112 that runs parallel to the interstate will be closed to traffic sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Friday, December 13, 2013.

            WVDOH crews and the contractor will work to reopen the southbound lanes within 30 minutes of the blast, once debris is removed from the roadway. The northbound lanes will remain closed the remainder of the day to allow for additional work by the contractor and to allow time for debris removal. The northbound fast lane is anticipated to open by dusk. The slow lane will remain closed indefinitely to allow for additional debris removal.

Northbound traffic will be detoured onto US 52 at Exit 1, then onto US 460 East, and back on to I-77 north in Princeton at Exit 9. Flaggers will be placed at strategic intersections along US 460 in Princeton to assist in the movement of traffic. Drivers should anticipate an extra 30 to 45 minutes of travel.

            Local traffic is advised to use alternative routes during the closure.

 

Storm Knocks Out Power to 17,000 West Virginians

A winter storm has knocked out electricity for about 17,000 Appalachian Power customers in West Virginia.
 
     The utility’s website shows most of the outages are in southern West Virginia. As of 8:25 a.m. Monday, there are 7,900 outages in Mercer County and more than 3,500 in Raleigh County.
 
     Smaller outages have occurred in Cabell, Fayette, Greenbrier, McDowell, Summers and Wyoming counties.
 
     Mon Power reports scattered outages in northern West Virginia.

Photos: Wintry Weather Hits Most of West Virginia

Residents around the state woke up to a wintry mix of snow, rain, and ice Sunday morning. In many areas, multiple inches have fallen and local authorities…

Residents around the state woke up to a wintry mix of snow, rain, and ice Sunday morning. In many areas, multiple inches have fallen and local authorities are cautioning residents not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Many events have been canceled throughout the state, so please check the organization sponsoring the event before traveling.

For continued updates on this winter storm and its effects, please follow: The West Virginia Department of Transportation, the National Weather Service in Charleston, the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the State Department of Education (for school closings). 

Here’s a look at some of the snowfall and winter weather around the state.

Here’s a photo taken in Kenna, Jackson County:

Jessica Kuniyoshi snapped this photo in Clarksburg:

In neighboring Bridgeport, it was more of the same:

Credit Chuck Lindsey / connectbridgeport.com
/
connectbridgeport.com

Abe Schoonover in Terra Alta took this photo while out and about:

Credit Abe Schoonover
/

Del. Gary Howell of Mineral County wasn’t worried about the storm:

 
NPR newscaster (and West Virginia Public Broadcasting alum) Giles Snyder tweeted this photo while on his commute home from Washington, D.C. to Martinsburg early afternoon Sunday:

And West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s very own Cecelia Mason pulled out her ruler to illustrate the snowfall at her Martinsburg home:

Heavy Rainfall, Snow Cause Widespread Road Closures

Heavy rainfall over the past few days has lead to road closures in many areas around the state, including roads in Berkeley, Braxton, Boone, Clay, Kanawha, Mason, Putnam, Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Wayne, Roane, Wood, Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler, Upshur, Randolph, Nicholas counties.

Update: Monday, December 9, 2013 at 10:55 a.m.

The Department of Transportation reports that new closures are in effect in Lincoln and Raleigh counties, and dangerous conditions in Mercer County have caused many closures there as well.

Update: Monday, December 9, 2013 at 8:53 a.m.

Plymale Branch in Wayne County has been reopened and new road closures are being reported in Cabell, Lincoln, and Wayne counties.

For more info, please see the latest report from the Department of Transportation.

Update: Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 9:08 a.m.

Roads closures remain in effect around the state, although some roadways have been reopened in Kanawha and Randolph counties. For the latest, please check information from the state Department of Transportation, released at 7:00 a.m. Sunday. 

Update: Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 2:55 p.m.

Douglas Grove in Berkeley County has been added to the list of roads closed around the state. Haines Branch in Kanawha County and Carpenter Fork Rd. in Braxton County have been reopened.

For the latest list of road closures and reopenings, please visit the West Virginia Department of Transportation’s list, which was released at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Original Story Published: Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 12:58 p.m.

The West Virginia Division of Transportation has compiled a list of all roads closed as of 9:20 a.m. Saturday.

For accident reports and other travel-related updates, be sure to check WV511.org. 

Exit mobile version