CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As West Virginia welcomes the first weekend of October, many in the Mountain State will also welcome the first widespread frost. Officials with the National Weather Service in Charleston say the frost won’t hit everywhere, but it will be the first widespread event we’ve seen this fall.
“We’ve had several nights in the last couple of weeks where we’ve had patchy frost, but tonight it’s going to be more widespread and reaching into the lowlands and central West Virginia a little bit,” said Meteorologist Tony Edwards at the Charleston Weather Bureau.
Edwards said there would probably be no frost in the city of Charleston or anywhere along the river valleys which would likely be protected by river fog, but “cold spots” will feel it Friday night.
The leaf change is already well underway, particularly in the state’s mountain areas. While temperature isn’t the lone factor in the level of leaf change, the transformation does rely on cooler temperatures.
“It’s a combination of factors, but the cool weather this week has helped speed that along. They’ll really start to turn fast in the next few days,” he said.
The vibrancy of the colors and hues in this year’s leaves has been noticeable. Edwards said he’s no expert, but believed increased rainfall in 2020 helped those along. He added there are no high winds or heavy storms in the forecast for the next several days, which could threaten to remove the leaves quickly.
“I think we’ll be able to enjoy them for a few days,” he said.