CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Much of West Virginia was dealing with high water in various forms after heavy rain from Thursday into early Friday morning averaging one to three inches nearly statewide.
“The highest amounts were pretty much in an area from Kanawha County and then upwards into Clay County is where we saw some higher values, just over three inches,” said Mike Kistner, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.
“That’s part of the reason why we’re seeing some of the worst flooding around the Clendenin area and then, as you head northeast, that line (of storms) just kind of continued and that’s pretty much the axis where we saw the heaviest rainfall.”
As of Friday morning, Flood Warnings from the National Weather Service were in effect for the Elk River in Kanawha County south of Queen Shoals, the West Fork River in Harrison County and the Little Kanawha River in Glenville and near Burnsville.
Those rivers were forecasted to fall below flood stage through the day Friday.
In the Eastern Panhandle, it was expected to be Saturday before Flood Warnings were lifted for Opequon Creek near Martinsburg which was expected to crest several feet above Flood Stage and the South Branch Potomac River in Hampshire County.
Forecasts indicated the rise on the Shenandoah River at Millville in Jefferson County would continue into Sunday morning and until Sunday evening along the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in Jefferson County.
The latest weather advisories were posted here.
In addition to the river flooding, “We have a lot of small streams and creeks too that came out of their banks and the water there is starting to recede in many of the small streams across the area,” Kistner said.
The heavy rain fell on already saturated ground in many communities.
Because of flooding, public schools were closed on Friday in both Gilmer County and Calhoun County. There were school delays in Braxton, Clay, Lewis and Roane counties. Individual schools in other counties did not open Friday due to high water effects.
For example, water runoff made it into the cafeteria at Alderson Elementary School in Greenbrier County.
Downed power lines tied to a tree fall on Route 10 meant a Friday closure at Ranger Elementary School in Lincoln County.
In Kanawha County, classes were canceled at Bridge Clendenin Elementary because flooding was keeping staff members from getting to the school.
On Friday morning, high water block portions of Route 119 near Clendenin.
“The good news is we have dry weather that’s moving in here this weekend and should continue into the first part of next week at least,” told MetroNews Friday from the Sterling, Va. NWS Office.
This Sunday, Kistner and his fellow Charleston meteorologists will return to Kanawha County after temporary relocation to both Pittsburgh, Pa. and Sterling, Va. due to mold levels in the Charleston National Weather Service office.
For the foreseeable future, those meteorologists will be working out of temporary trailers in the Capital City.