CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The rain from a weather front scheduled to arrive in West Virginia late Wednesday will be a welcomed site for volunteer firefighters and the state Division of Forestry who have been battling forest fires this week.
The fires were on the increase Wednesday morning with dry conditions, temperatures in the mid-60s and heavy wind gusts. The conditions should be short-lived, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Dylan Cooper.
“That storm system (with the rain) is pushing toward us and we’re seeing a lot of warm air heading in from the south ahead of that,” Cooper said.
Rain arriving Wednesday night into Thursday will be heavy in spots.
“We could see upwards of a half-inch, maybe an inch or maybe even a little bit more over a pretty big chunk of the area with that front coming through,” Cooper said.
Later Thursday and into Friday will be seasonable with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s. Colder temperatures and the chance for snow will come Sunday, Cooper said.
“We could see some flurries even as far south as Charleston. Of course, the best chances for any kind of snowfall will be in the mountains, the higher ridge tops,” according to Cooper.