Snowfall Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Winter Weather Covers West Virginia

West Virginia is under a Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service and a State of Emergency from Gov. Jim Justice.

The entire state of West Virginia is under either a winter weather advisory or a winter storm warning.

“We have got a winter storm warning for much of our forecast area,” Simone Lewis, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Charleston, said. “So pretty much the whole state of West Virginia has either got a winter storm warning or a winter weather advisory and that’s for late this evening, lasting through Saturday morning.”

Starting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 18 and lasting through 10 a.m. Saturday morning, Jan. 20 heavy snow is expected with a possible accumulation of four to 12 inches, depending on the region.

“We are expecting a general four to six inches, and that includes down in the southern coalfields also. And then once you get into the mountainous counties, we’re expecting eight to 12 inches,” Lewis said.

Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for all 55 West Virginia counties ahead of the storm on Thursday afternoon. The State of Emergency allows state agencies to coordinate ahead of a possible weather event, including by pre-positioning personnel, vehicles, equipment and other assets.

“All West Virginians need to absolutely be ready for the potential impact this winter storm may bring to our state,” Justice said. “West Virginians should pay extra close attention to emergency officials and media outlets, and be prepared if there are power outages. West Virginians take care of one another, so make sure you check on your neighbors and loved ones, too.”

The wind chill is expected to be 16 degrees on Friday before it drops to -2 degrees on Saturday morning. Lewis said by Saturday, the heaviest accumulations will generally be over with.

“It’d be probably about mid to late evening and lasting through much of the day Friday,” Lewis said. “Saturday, the system will start to pull off to the east, but we will continue to see some lingering light snow shower activity across the state.”

The West Virginia Emergency Management Division (WV EMD) has been placed on standby to support the State Emergency Operations Center should the need arise.

EMD has posted non-emergency numbers for each county 911 center.

The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) crew continues their snow removal and ice control operations.

“We are prepared for any snowfall event, whether it’s an inch of snow or a foot of snow,” said Joe Pack, P.E., WVDOH chief engineer of District Operations. “We attack each storm with the same level of importance of having every available truck on the road, with a driver in it, plow mounted on it, and salt in the back.”

Statewide, WVDOH has a stockpile of more than 231,000 tons of salt. A typical snowplow holds 12 tons of salt, enough to treat about 100 lane miles of road.

January 20, 1978: A Great Blizzard Strikes West Virginia

On January 20, 1978, one of the worst blizzards in modern history struck West Virginia. It was the result of a Nor’easter that developed the previous day in the Atlantic.

The National Weather Service was caught completely off guard, believing the snow would largely miss the Mountain State and then change to freezing rain and sleet by late afternoon. However, the temperature never rose above freezing. The National Weather Service continually upped the expected storm totals throughout the day—from just a dusting, to two inches, to six inches and higher.

By the time the snow had stopped, West Virginia was blanketed with its heaviest snowfall on record. Two feet had fallen in Charleston and the Kanawha Valley, followed by Huntington with 20 inches, and Wheeling with 18. Preston County, Parkersburg, and Martinsburg all topped out at 16 inches. In Hinton, 15 inches of snow collapsed the roof of a factory.

Roads were shut down for days in parts of the state, as schools and businesses closed. Emergency vehicles plowed the snow into massive ice mounds, many of which didn’t completely melt until the spring thaw.

Spring? Heavy Snow Falls in West Virginia, Kentucky

Updated on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 12:25 p.m.

It might be spring, but areas of West Virginia and Kentucky look more like winter, especially at ski resorts, with up to a foot of snow forecast in some areas.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the eastern half of West Virginia until 11 p.m. Wednesday and in areas around Louisville, Kentucky, until 2 p.m. Much of the rest of both states were under a winter storm advisory that called for up to 5 inches of snowfall.

Snow fell Tuesday night and continued Wednesday afternoon, making travel difficult in some areas and leading several school systems to cancel classes.

Residents in some snow-bombarded areas of West Virginia were told to stay off the roads to allow crews to treat them.

Joe Castaldo, the state Department of Transportation’s Berkeley County supervisor, told the Journal of Martinsburg that numerous vehicles have slid off roads or become stuck on hills.

Castaldo suggested that people stay home if they can.

“If they have to be out, then try to stick to main primary routes and only go if you have four-wheel drive vehicles,” he said.

FirstEnergy said nearly 10,000 customers in northern and eastern West Virginia were without electricity on Wednesday, while Appalachian Power said more than 7,000 customers were without service in southern West Virginia.

In Louisville, Kentucky, heavy, wet snow fell at the rate of about an inch per hour, snapping tree limbs. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokeswoman Andrea Clifford said crews were salting and plowing roadways.

For some areas that have dodged snowfall this winter, it was the first major storm.

Sarah Schottler, who runs Blakeley Street Bakery in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle community of Charles Town, said a vendor show in Maryland where she was supposed to promote her products was canceled by the storm, but that freed her up to get some Easter cookie orders filled at her shop. Her two children got a snow day off from school Wednesday after about 8 inches of snow fell. More was still coming down.

“It’s definitely our only one for the year,” Schottler said. “I feel like a lot of people were kind of OK with it because you spend all winter wondering if we’re going to get any and we really didn’t get anything. And you know it’s the last one. So it’s like the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Some of West Virginia’s ski resorts are enjoying an early spring surge after a warm February, said Joe Stevens, spokesman for the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.

The storm has especially benefited a pair of cross country ski areas. Whitegrass Touring Center in Tucker County and the Elk River Touring Center in Pocahontas County should “finish the season strong with excellent conditions,” Stevens said.

During an eight-day stretch in mid-March, 70 inches of snow fell at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, and that was before the current storm hit. The resort had 40 of 60 trails open Wednesday and plans to keep them open through the end of the month.

The storm came too late for skiers hoping to get in one last run at Timberline Four Seasons Resort and Canaan Valley resort, which had already shut down its slopes. In southern West Virginia, Winterplace Ski Resort suspended operations after last weekend and plans to decide whether to re-open for slopes this weekend.

Shutdowns, Shoveling, and Sleighriding: A W.Va. Winter Story

Several public school systems across the state remained closed Friday. It was the same story at several universities and colleges. Some West Virginians are still digging out of a deep snow that fell over Wednesday and Thursday.

Preliminary totals from the National Weather Service include more than a foot in the Eastern Panhandle and Southern West Virginia. American Electric Power’s website showed minor outages during the storm. Governor Tomblin urged residents to stay home unless absolutely necessary. Still, the deep snow created slick conditions treacherous for driving and a workout to shovel but perfect for sleigh riding.

Students at Concord University enjoyed a day off as did Mercer County public schools, so residents quickly flocked to campus to enjoy a Concord tradition. Listen to the audio file above to hear West Virginians shovels, plow and even slide through the snow day.

Jessica Lilly can be reached at 304.384.5981, or by email jlilly@wvpublic.org. You can also follow her on twitter: @WVJessicaYLilly.

For updates from West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s statewide news team, follow @wvpubnews.

Winter Weather on It's Way

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for most of the state Tuesday into Wednesday as a Nor’easter makes its way across the mid west and into the northeast.

Meteorologist Ken Batty of the NWS said much of the state will experience light to moderate rain showers throughout the day Tuesday that will increase into the evening hours.

The northern panhandle is the exception as they are experiencing colder temperatures already bringing them snow. Areas near Wheeling and Weirton will continue to see snowfall throughout the day Tuesday into Wednesday.

The forecast is expected to change overnight, however, as cold air moves into West Virginia.

“The colder air will rush in tonight and change the participation from rain to snow, say, in the tri-state around Huntington and in the Ohio River counties like Parkersburg to Huntington before midnight,” Betty said.

“Then, it will reach the southern coalfields and the I-79 corridor from Charleston to Morgantown late tonight,” he added. “Everybody should be involved in wind blown snow and snow showers on Wednesday.”

Batty said Tuesday’s evening commute will consist of steady rain, but snow will accumulate by morning making for a slower travel.

Accumulation overnight and into Wednesday could total in the double digits in the northern panhandle and mountain counties with 5 to 10 inches expected in the central lowlands and southern coalfields.

Only flurries are expected in the eastern panhandle.

Batty expects most of the precipitation to finish by tomorrow morning, making for fair travel conditions Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday.