CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The new week will open with frigid temperatures in West Virginia and meteorologists said it would feel even colder due to high winds that were blowing through the Mountain State on Sunday on the heels of storm system packing rain, ice and snow.
“Single digits, wind chills in the negatives,” was the Monday morning forecast, according to James Zvolensky, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.
On Sunday, wind gusts nearing 40 miles per hour were being recorded in parts of West Virginia.
Now that the storm system has moved out… snow showers, gusty winds, and a surge of cold from the North are impacting roads with icy conditions reported across most of the area. #wvwx #ohwx #kywx #vawx Drive safe! Or better yet, stay in today ☕️ pic.twitter.com/K9fEuipSSu
— NWS Charleston, WV (@NWSCharlestonWV) January 20, 2019
Wind Chill Warnings, most of them taking effect on Sunday evening, were posted for all or parts of the following counties into Monday: Webster, Pocahontas, Randolph, Preston, Tucker, Grant, Mineral and Pendleton.
A Wind Chill Warning means the combination of very cold air and the wind will create dangerously low wind chill values.
Frostbite can occur quickly and even hypothermia and death if precautions are not taken for possible wind chills as low as 30 below zero.
The Wind Chill Advisory list included all or parts of these counties: Monroe, Greenbrier, Upshur, Barbour, Raleigh, Fayette, Pocahontas, Nicholas, Webster, Randolph, Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Marion, Preston, Monongalia, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson, Hardy, Grant and Mineral.
A Wind Chill Advisory means cold air and the wind will combine to create wind chills as low as 20 below zero.
Again, frostbite and hypothermia can occur if precautions are not taken.
See the latest weather warning and advisory list HERE.
As of Sunday, the National Weather Service out Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Md. was reporting 6 inches of snow in Ridgeley and three inches in Keyser in Mineral County, W.Va. along with two inches of snow at Berkeley Springs in Morgan County and two inches at Falling Waters in Berkeley County.
Snow totals reached similar amounts in the most northern portions of the Northern Panhandle and climbed higher Sunday in some of the Eastern Mountain counties.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation said there were slick road conditions statewide.
Expect slick conditions when driving today and tonight. Remember to check @WV511 for road closures & conditions.
Our WVDOH crews are working hard to make your drive safe. #WVDOT ❄️? https://t.co/Tvh4JTsK93— WVDOT (@WVDOT) January 20, 2019
“All the moisture on the ground from all that rain is turning to ice pretty quick, especially with the dry wind,” said Zvolensky when he spoke with MetroNews late Sunday morning.
At one point Sunday, Flood Warnings were in effect for Opequon Creek near Martinsburg in Berkeley County due to heavy rain and snowmelt along with the Tygart Valley River at Mill Creek in Randolph County.
Another cold night was in the forecast for Monday night in West Virginia before slightly milder temperatures Tuesday ahead of the arrival of the next weather system on Wednesday.