High winds and wet conditions led to fallen trees and flooding throughout the area Tuesday and Wednesday, causing power outages across Monongalia and Preston counties.
Wind speed readings taken by the National Weather Service (NWS) at Morgantown Municipal Airport (Hart Field) showed sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with peaks over 50 mph.
The combination of the high winds with rain and snow kept road and power crews busy as trees began falling and roads began flooding.
By Wednesday afternoon, the Monongalia County Emergency Management Agency (MECCA) received reports of 31 fallen trees across the county, according to Director Jimmy Smith. They also had 10 reports of flooding on roadways and two calls regarding water coming into homes.
Over the two-day period, more than 24,000 Mon Power customers were affected by the weather-related outages. According to FirstEnergy Spokesperson Hannah Catlett, Mon Power crews made significant progress overnight, restoring power to approximately 84% of customers as of noon on Wednesday.
Midday Wednesday, power crews were still working to restore power to around 300 Monongalia County residents and 50 homes in Preston County.
“We expect heavy winds to continue throughout the day, and our crews are prepared to respond to additional outages,” Catlett said Wednesday afternoon.
“We ask those experiencing an outage to please report it right away by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS or at firstenergycorp.com/outages. There is significant tree damage and flooding out there, so people should be sure to avoid standing water and keep at least 30 feet away from downed wires,” she advised.
Smith said that while the calls reporting downed trees and flooding had slowed down by Wednesday afternoon, residents should still be cautious, particularly in areas known to commonly hold water or flood.
Meteorologists are predicting another strong low-pressure system will pose additional winter, wind and flooding concerns late Friday through Saturday.
NWS Meteorologist Colton Milcarek discussed the tracking of the expected weekend low-pressure system, stating the general progression of winds and winter weather seem to be similar to that of Tuesday and Wednesday’s storm. Precipitation is expected to begin on Friday afternoon with a possible period of slushy snow at the onset, followed by warm rain. The chances for advisory level winds are greatest for late Friday into Saturday.
Milcarek predicts low temperatures behind the cold front are likely with temperatures forecasted in the teens Saturday and Sunday. There could be additional snow chances that will approach from the south Sunday into Monday, with temps potentially dipping into the single digits come Tuesday morning.
Impacts from this weekend storm will depend on track and intensity, he cautioned, both of which are highly uncertain at this time.
Milcarek noted that Climate Prediction Center outlooks show this cold pattern may persist through mid-to-late January.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
