A major weekend snowstorm predicted for the area prompted Governor Jim Justice to declare a State of Preparedness, putting all 55 of West Virginia’s counties on alert.
“Right now we have a winter storm watch out in the area for Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon,” said Meteorologist Lee Hendricks, National Weather Service (NWS) — Pittsburgh. “We are looking for during the day Sunday to be partly cloudy in the morning then snow developing in the afternoon with some accumulation possible in the afternoon.”
Hendricks said the chance of snow Sunday afternoon/evening is around 70%. The NWS is predicting the heaviest snow Sunday night sometime after midnight with wind gusts reaching up to 25 mph at times. The snowfall may continue into Monday morning, but little or no accumulation is expected at that time.
Temperatures, according to Hendricks, will remain steady in the mid-20s with highs in the upper 20s.
“It looks like the heaviest snow will be Sunday night into the early morning hours of Monday,” said Henricks. “We are looking for snow accumulations during that period to be anywhere between 4 and 9 inches.”
Hendricks stressed the area is currently under a winter storm watch, meaning conditions are possible for this, but these numbers are not written in stone.
Meteorologist Tom Kines with AccuWeather agreed the snow will likely begin later in the day on Sunday into Sunday night, however he believes there will be a bit more accumulation, with a 6- to 10-inch snowfall.
“Mid-late afternoon Sunday, probably around 2 p.m.,” Kines said. “If you’ve got errands to run in the morning you’re probably fine but any time after 2 p.m. keep your guard up. Obviously travel will be difficult later Sunday and especially Sunday night.”
Kines said he suspects even though the storm will wind down Monday morning, road conditions will not be ideal with the amount of accumulation possible.
Henricks also warned of the potential for hazardous conditions during the morning commute on Monday.
“I would say the business commute on Monday would not be a great thing,” he said. “There is potential to have a lot of snow and a little bit of wind blowing and drifting about. Snow plows can only get up to a certain amount of snow and they sometimes don’t do so well, especially when you get into the cities like Morgantown.”
While the state braces for this potential storm, Gov. Justice declared a State of Preparedness to help brace for potential emergencies, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
The declaration directs the State Emergency Operations Center and its partner agencies to prepare to respond to the impending winter storm, readying personnel and resources to respond quickly should an emergency situation develop.
The release stated the West Virginia Emergency Management Division (EMD) watch center has increased staffing through the weekend to perform around-the-clock monitoring of the weather system and will notify leaders if local emergency management agencies request assistance.
Gov. Justice and the EMD ask all West Virginians to remain attentive to weather conditions through local media reports and follow any instructions issued by emergency officials.
For up-to-date weather conditions visit accuweather.com or weather.gov. Current road condition information can be found on the West Virginia Department of Transportation’s “Know Before You Go” site wv511.org.
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