CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A quick-moving storm system left behind damage in West Virginia Wednesday afternoon.
Wind gusts were clocked at more than 50 miles per hour in some locations knocking down trees and power lines. Appalachian Power Company reported more than 23,000 customers without service at 3:30 p.m. Most of the outages were recorded in Wayne and Nicholas counties.
Mon Power reported 4,500 customers without service at 3:30 and most of those were in Harrison County, 3,100.
A strong cold front created the stormy conditions and dropped temperatures drastically.
“Generally on the order of around 40 degrees from high temperatures today to low temperatures tonight,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Simone Lewis at the Charleston Weather Bureau.
Precipitation began as mostly rain, but as the temperatures drops the entire state could be in for a chance of snow.
“There’s a chance for snow for the whole state overnight,” Lewis said.”Accumulations will be generally light. Most areas of the western lowlands are looking for one to two inches of snow; the mountain counties could see one to four inches.”
Temperatures will remain cold on Thursday, but Lewis said by Friday temperatures should return to the 50s.