Snow/ice storm strikes Eastern Panhandle; warm up this weekend could lead to flooding

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — It was a quick but heavy storm that left several inches of snow across the Eastern Panhandle.

MetroNews affiliate WEPM measured a little over 7 inches of snow in front of their Martinsburg studios Wednesday afternoon. While crews continued to dig out, periods of freezing rain continued to fall.

“We’re expecting freezing rain to continue through probably around midnight at least before it switches over to rain,” National Weather Service DC/Baltimore Meteorologist Cody Ledbetter told WEPM. “We’re expecting anywhere from a tenth to two tenths of an inch. I could definitely see some slick spots for the morning commute.”

The National Weather Service also confirmed multiple occurrences of what is known as “thundersnow”. The agency said while it is uncommon, the situations were just right Wednesday for it to happen multiple times across the Eastern Panhandle, central and eastern Maryland.

“Shallow layers of unstable air lead to enhanced upward motion, increasing snow growth and causing enough electric charge separation for lightning.” -Thundersnow, NWS

Another concern is flooding as temperature warm to 51 on Thursday, 45 on Friday and 62 on Saturday.  Additional precipitation is also anticipated.

“We’re looking at a pretty decent amount of rain it looks like Saturday night into Sunday,” said Ledbetter. “So it’s definitely on our radar.”

Martinsburg City Manager Mark Baldwin said on Wednesday’s ‘Panhandle Live’ on WEPM crews were prepared for this storm and have been working around the clock.

“We prepare days ahead of time. We make sure the trucks are ready to roll and all of the snow plows are maintained and ready. We do 12 hour shifts with the crews around the clock for the next couple of days. The focus is those main drags and the hills and particularly hospitals, school zones and so forth.”

Multiple accidents were reported on I-81 and other primary routes in Berkeley County Wednesday morning. No major injuries were reported.

 





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