CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Late Wednesday into Thursday will be a tough time for travel in parts of West Virginia with a mix of rain, sleet, ice and snow on the way, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Charleston.
Winter Storm Warnings and Watches were scheduled to take effect Wednesday morning and continue into Friday morning in more than 30 counties:
Wyoming, Upshur, Barbour, Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, Pocahontas, Randolph, Wayne, Cabell, Mason, Jackson, Tyler, Lincoln, Putnam, Kanawha, Roane, Wirt, Calhoun, Ritchie, Doddridge, Mingo, Logan, Boone, Clay, Braxton, Gilmer, Lewis, Harrison and Taylor
The latest weather advisories, watches and warnings were posted HERE.
The NWS issued a Winter Storm Warning Tuesday afternoon for Kanawha, Putnam, Lincoln and Cabell counties. The warning period is from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 1 a.m. Friday with 2-4 inches of snow possible, a heavy mixed precipitation and ice accumulations of up to a quarter of an inch.
John Peck, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the storm would start affecting areas in western West Virginia beginning Wednesday afternoon with wintry precipitation occurring at times through Thursday night.
A lot was not known as of Tuesday morning when Peck talked with MetroNews about what he called “a pretty complicated system.”
“We know we’re going to have a long-duration winter event. We know roughly accumulation, liquid-wise equivalence, we know how much — about — is going to fall,” Peck said.
“The big question will remain: how much snow versus how much ice?”
For Wednesday into Thursday, the Interstate 64 Corridor between Huntington and Charleston, which typically avoids such storm systems, was a focus area for forecasters due to air conditions that were atypical for this time of year and expected to change during the storm.
“Basically, 40 miles on either side of I-64, that’s the main threat corridor,” Peck said.
“Be prepared for power outages. Be prepared for difficult travel.”
In general, the highest snow totals were expected to the north of Interstate 64 while ice accumulations were predicted to be the heaviest along and south of I-64.
“It looks like Wednesday night is going to be our best shot at significant precipitation and perhaps another shot, especially for eastern Kentucky, on Thursday afternoon,” Peck said.
In the watch areas in northeast, northern, southeast and southern West Virginia, heavy mixed precipitation was possible with the potential for more than six inches of snow and ice accumulations of one-tenth of an inch or more depending on locations and temperatures.
On Tuesday morning, counties in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle — Marshall, Ohio, Brooke and Hancock — saw snow out of system that pushed through late Monday into early Tuesday out of southeastern Ohio.
Winter Weather Advisories for three to six inches of snow in those counties were scheduled to be lifted early Tuesday afternoon.
Schools were closed in Hancock County on Tuesday.
School instruction shifted to fully remote schedules on Tuesday in Brooke County, Marshall County and Pleasants County.
A winter storm event will occur over Wed./Thurs. for the greater part of WV/KY & parts of south OH. Wintry precip is expected w/chances for significant ice/snow accumulations for many locations. With still much uncertainty its good to check for updates at: https://t.co/aW8kk69eVA pic.twitter.com/a8GuEgnld4
— NWS Charleston, WV (@NWSCharlestonWV) February 9, 2021