CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sunday was marked with heavy snow in parts of southern and southeastern West Virginia.
The snow came courtesy of a winter storm system that was dumping snow through much of Virginia, western North Carolina, eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee and northern South Carolina.
“The storm has shifted a bit further north,” Ross Giarratana, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, told MetroNews late Sunday morning.
As of 11:15 a.m., “Beckley and points south into southeastern West Virginia have seen around 4 to 6 inches of snow so far. That’s where we’ve been seeing the heaviest concentrations of snow (in the Mountain State),” he said.
Snow was expected to fall through Sunday afternoon.
To see latest snowfall reports across the region visit this page. Zoom in on the map to see reports. https://t.co/nLRVYggZjV
— NWS Blacksburg (@NWSBlacksburg) December 9, 2018
Winter Storm Warnings from the National Weather Service for heavy snow were scheduled to continue until 12 a.m. Monday in Mingo, Logan, McDowell, Wyoming, Raleigh and southeast Fayette counties.
It was expected to be 11 a.m. Monday before Winter Storm Warnings were lifted through Greenbrier, Mercer, Summers and Monroe counties.
A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather conditions will make travel “very hazardous or impossible,” according to the National Weather Service.
Talk about a sharp snow gradient on the north side of this winter storm — check out these two @WV511 cams near Beckley, WV! @WVDOT pic.twitter.com/FEKA2HKHl7
— NWS Charleston, WV (@NWSCharlestonWV) December 9, 2018
“We are expecting to see the highest (snow) totals in southeastern West Virginia right along that West Virginia – Virginia state line where we could be looking at amounts getting close to that eight inch range,” Giarratana said.
5 AM – Update on today's winter storm. Significant snowfall is now expected for SW Virginia and SE West Virginia. Travel will be extremely difficult and power outages will be possible due to heavy snow. Snowfall rates could exceed 2 inches per hour at times! pic.twitter.com/8SGvZpFis2
— NWS Charleston, WV (@NWSCharlestonWV) December 9, 2018
During the storm, “Travel is not advised around Beckley and points south and east,” he said.
In Mercer County, some of the worst conditions Sunday were along Interstate 77 between Flat Top and Princeton, Route 460 and Route 19.
Hazardous driving conditions could continue into the Monday morning commute.
On Sunday, Division of Highways road crews from ten county garages were actively plowing roadways, while three were spot treating roads or on standby, West Virginia 511 was reporting.
In addition to difficult travel due to the heavy snow, isolated power outages were possible.