CHARLESTON, W.Va. — This weekend could be the coldest parts of West Virginia have seen so far during Winter 2016.
Al Whitaker, director of the Greenbrier County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, was warning residents about the cold air from Canada that was pushing through the Midwest and across to West Virginia.
“It is going to be cold and, if they have the availability to have alternative source heating in the event of power outages, we’re just trying to make sure that they have that,” Whitaker said of the advice he was giving to residents.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service indicated Snowshoe in Pocahontas County could see the lowest temperatures this weekend with wind chills, at times, of -33 degrees.
Temperatures were not expected to be much warmer in western Greenbrier County and power outages could potentially cause big problems in those kinds of temperatures, according to Whitaker.
“We will be monitoring the power outages and, if it is needed, then we can look and open up shelters that have generators,” he said of the emergency response that would follow any prolonged power outages.
In western Greenbrier County, a Wind Chill Warning from the National Weather Service remained in effect into Sunday morning. Additional snow, possibly two to four inches was also in the forecast.
Wind chill readings in that area, meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va. predicted, could dip to between -25 and -33 degrees with the help of wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. The heaviest of the winds were expected to subside by Saturday afternoon.
Real temperatures were forecasted to hover between five degrees above and five degrees below zero in parts of Whitaker’s county.
Wind Chill Watches were posted for Grant, Mineral, Pendleton and eastern Tucker Counties for projected temperatures in the single digits and wind chills as low as -25 degrees.
The following counties were under Wind Chill Advisories for portions of the weekend: Taylor, Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, Upshur, Barbour, Pocahontas, Randolph, Monroe, Mercer, Summers, Hancock, Brooke, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, western Tucker, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel.
Temperatures in those areas may range from -5 to 10 degrees with wind chills between -10 and -20 degrees, lower in higher terrain.
With that kind of cold, “There’s all kinds of problems as far as frostbite, hypothermia, things like that if you’re out exposed (to it) for a long period of time,” said Andrew Beavers, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.
“Even in temperatures that cold, as long as people dress properly, cover any extremities, wear heavy coats, scarves, gloves, cover the face, it ordinarily isn’t going to be a problem.”
The cold will continue into next week.
“It looks like we’ve got a little bit of weather moving in Monday and then we’ve got another, maybe, little clipper system Monday night into Tuesday. Temperatures are not going to warm much,” Beavers said.