CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An inch of rain fell across most of West Virginia on Monday, a needed relief for areas dealing with dry conditions.
Most of the state is not considered to be in a drought, but the eastern portion of West Virginia along the Virginia border has been dealing with abnormally dry conditions according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s National Drought Mitigation Center.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Maura Casey said the slow rate of rain since Sunday also minimized the chances of flooding.
“When you have a lot of rain in a short amount of time, a lot of that might run off immediately into creeks,” she said. “It came slowly and steadily enough to where the ground was able to absorb a pretty good part of it.”
The fire was a relief for those fighting the forest fire at North Fork Mountain in Grant County, which has spread to 180 acres.
“Luckily, during the fire season, we had a good soaking rain to help us out.”
Gov. Jim Justice said the rain was a welcoming sight during a Monday press conference on the passed road bond referendum
“We’re really blessed to not have forest fires going one everywhere,” he said. “We’re going to be thankful for the rain.”
Casey said additional showers are expected statewide on Wednesday and into early Thursday.