CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – A major storm is on our doorstep as we are looking at rain across the region, with a transition to freezing rain, sleet, and snow potentially through Friday.
STORMTRACKER ALERTS:
An Areal Flood Warning has been issued for Tyler, Wood, Pleasants, Wirt, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, northern Preston, Monongalia, Wetzel, northwestern Lewis, and northern Gilmer counties through Friday morning, and an Areal Flood Watch has been issued for Pleasants, Wood, Ritchie, Gilmer, Calhoun, Braxton, Webster, Pocahontas, Randolph, western Pendleton, western Grant, Garrett, Preston, Upshur, Barbour, Taylor, Harrison, Lewis, Doddridge, Wetzel, Marion, Tyler, Monongalia and Wirt counties through early Friday.
A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for Wetzel, Tyler, Pleasants, and Wood county through Friday afternoon, and a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Ritchie, Doddridge, Wirt, Gilmer, Braxton, Calhoun, Webster, Pocahontas, Randolph, Upshur, Lewis, Harrison, Marion, Taylor, Monongalia, Preston, Tucker, and Barbour counties through Friday.
IMPACTS:
We have already seen anywhere from a half an inch to nearly 2 inches of rainfall since Wednesday night.
Rain is expected to continue into the overnight hours Thursday with potentially another 1-2 inches across the region before transitioning to freezing rain, and sleet into the early evening hours and continuing through the night.
As temperatures drop below freezing Thursday night, the chance of freezing rain increases causing very hazardous conditions on the roadways throughout the Mountain State, especially in those areas west of I-79.
The heavy rain and already saturated soil will enhance flooding potential. If you see any flooding, make sure to turn around if driving a vehicle and get to higher ground if possible.
A transition to snow is expected to occur Friday morning and last through the afternoon hours, beginning to taper off into the evening. Hazardous travel conditions and power outages stand out as the biggest threats to the Mountain State as the colder air swoops in late Thursday into Friday.
Once the rain and freezing rain transitions to snow, we are expecting to see the highest snowfall accumulation along the W.Va./Oh border where we expect between 1-3 inches of snowfall. The remaining portions of the region is expected to see anywhere from a dusting up to 2 inches. Locally higher amounts are possible.
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