FROST, W.Va. — Schools and roads are closed in Pocahontas County following heavy rainfall Friday morning that has lead to flooding and at least one rock slide.
The National Weather Service in Charleston issued flood warnings for Pocahontas, Randolph, Upshur, Barbour, and Taylor counties through 9:45 am Friday morning. Parts of Pocahontas County have been extended to either 11:45 am or 12:30 pm–depending on your location. Randolph County is also on a flood warning until 12:30 pm.
“They saw a good bit of rainfall overnight,” NWS Meterologist Dylan Cooper said. “And we do have some reports of ongoing flooding.”
The reported rock slide closed some parts of Rt. 84 in Pocahontas County along with Rt. 28 and Rt. 92.
“They got some pretty impressive rainfall,” Cooper said. “Two to four inches common through that area. Upwards of six, seven plus inches in some isolated locations.”
According to Cooper, neighboring Upshur County has also dealt with flooding today in the Mill Creek area and the base of the Cheat Mountain.
“We absolutely urge people to know what they would do if there is a warning issued for their area or if they see high water to know what they would do–how they would evacuate, where they would go,” he said. “Biggest thing with any situation like this is being prepared ahead of time.”
Storms are expected to continue rolling in this afternoon through much of the central and eastern parts of the state.
“Some of the storms could be on the strong side with gusty winds and hail, but we are a little bit more concerned about the potential for some additional flooding kind of near where we saw that this morning along the eastern part of the state,” Cooper said.
“Across Central West Virginia today is the area we are starting to hone in on.”
Cooper said residents of impacted areas should expect to see a number of storms–some of which can deliver a lot of rainfall in short periods of time.
“We could see isolated amounts of two to four inches where we see storms repeatedly moving over the same areas, or where we get some of these stronger storms that develop that can very efficiently produce rainfall,” he said.
Earlier this morning, the Barbour County 911 Center told MetroNews that had not yet had any reported flooding.
Taylor County 911 reported downed power lines and trees, but no flooding as of mid-morning.