CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Although several counties in West Virginia had a flood watch upgraded to a flood warning on Thursday morning, the bulk of the high water appeared to be minor.
“I don’t see anything in the reports I have yet of any serious, consequential flooding,” said Secretary Mike Todorovich of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. when he appeared on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Read Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management update here
A little over a dozen counties were under a flood warning meaning flooding was happening or imminent on Thursday. Most of the issues involved flooded roadways and low lying areas which typically flood when the water gets high. There were no reports of any property damage or water into homes or businesses. As of Thursday afternoon, no county had asked for resources.
Mike Todorovich, Director of @WVDHSEM, gives @HoppyKercheval his insights on the ongoing weather and potential flooding in WV. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/7A5qfP9m3r
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) February 13, 2020
“Most of the roads that are flooded are the ones we predicted, we can almost predict which roads are going to get inundated with water as the river rises,” said Dennis Zimmerman with the Mason County Office of Emergency Services.
Mason County was one of the first to be upgraded to a flood warning by the National Weather Service and a river flood warning for the Ohio River was put into place which stretched into the weekend.
“We don’t anticipate anything beyond minor flooding for the Point Pleasant area,” he said.
Zimmerman didn’t expect, based on current data, the Ohio would even reach the level of 2018. He said it was doubtful the level would even reach the point to trigger closing the Point Pleasant flood wall.
Forecasters expected the weather for the rest of the week across much of West Virginia to turn sharply colder and more seasonal. Higher elevations are expected to see some light snow out of what’s left of the system’s precipitation.