10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Groundhog couldn’t have been more wrong

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The groundhog told us to expect six more weeks of winter. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Temperatures have barely hit freezing since that ill fated prediction on February 2nd and it’s looking more and more like winter in West Virginia may be over for all intents and purposes.

“It’s not looking like we’re going to have a cold end to the winter,” said Meteorologist Maura Casey of the National Weather Service in Charleston. “At least not right now in the guidance we have from the Climate Prediction Center and our own models. It’s looking like the warm pattern is going to hang around for the time being.”

As the days of February disappear, the chances of severe weather aren’t necessarily over, but the chances of a prolonged storm start to rapidly diminish.

“Our soil temperatures throughout the year really haven’t dipped below 40 degrees,” said Casey. “Unless you have really cold ground temperatures it’s going to be hard for the snow to stick around regardless.”

Adding to the possibility of an early spring is a pattern of warm weather all across the nation. Record highs are in the forecast in the days ahead for not only West Virginia, but also for parts of the Upper Midwest. Casey said those predictions help fuel the confidence the unusual late winter mild weather for the Mountain State will continue.

“It’s not completely out of the question. If you go back to the legendary superstorm of 1993, that happened in March. That buried us and most of the northeast under snow, so it’s not out of the question,” Casey said. “But it’s also not looking very good to have any snow, at least in the immediate future.”





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