WESTON, W.Va. — Like many others around the state, Lewis County residents were digging out from the snow Sunday.
With an average of 25 inches falling across the county, the Lewis County E-911 and OEM Director said some communities were looking for some outside help.
“This stuff is so wet and so much of if, it’s just hard to move,” Bill Rowan said. “The city of Weston has hired contractors help them out and move snow and the town of Jane Lew is looking for the same thing.”
While many of the main roads in the region like I-79 were passable Sunday morning, he and other emergency service officials were still urging caution for those who could even get to those roads.
“I know people have cabin fever, they just need to be very patient.”
As people begin to dig out of their homes, Rowan implored them to not overexert themselves and be wary of the conditions as the sun goes down.
“There’s plenty of snow, it’s going to take a long time,” he said. “We just want everybody to be careful out there and after it warms up, there’s going to be ice and other issues to deal with.”
The winter storm’s impact was felt in the region as reports came in of snow totals ranging from 12 inches in Doddridge and Ritchie Counties to over 40 inches at Canaan in Tucker County.
However, incidents were seemingly kept to a minimum and Rowan credited the citizens for taking the warnings seriously and staying out of harms way.
He also said he was pleased with the response from emergency services, even if things were not as hectic as planned.
“The ambulance services responded diligently, very few law enforcement calls and, to be honest, it’s been pretty quiet. The only thing we’re doing today is they’re calling wanting to know where the snow plows are.”
The dig-out effort is expected to take a few days.