MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Residents in parts of West Virginia got their first taste of winter weather Tuesday morning.
A band of snow squalls moved over northcentral West Virginia from Sutton to Morgantown. The accumulation was more significant in the eastern mountain counties.
The timing of one of the squalls created a mess in Morgantown and surrounding areas.
Monongalia County MECCA 911 Executive Director Jim Smith says the quick-dusting, which came right as morning rush hour was starting, caused 29 wrecks.
“Most places didn’t even get an inch, it was a dusting of snow,” Smith said. “But it was 25 degrees and as cars started driving across that thin layer of snow it just turned to ice.”
Monongalia County Schools cancelled classes for the day and WVU cancelled its early morning in-person classes.
The conditions on Interstate 79 from Fairmont to Morgantown were a big problem as traffic inched along.
The results of snow squall also caused big traffic problems in Buckhannon where motorists were slipping and sliding. A tractor trailer got stuck in one area.
The higher elevations, like Tucker County, had measurable snow.
There were some injuries associated with the wrecks in Monongalia County, Smith said.
“We did have EMS out on a lot of those accidents,” he said.
Smith said it was an interesting way to get winter started.
“As soon as the salt trucks comes through and throws some salt down the road can clear up but it was just such a wide area, we had vehicle stuck everywhere,” he said.
After a cold night Tuesday, with temperatures expected to dip into the teens, meteorologists are predicting a warming trend with highs in the upper 40s Wednesday and mid-50s by Thursday.
MetroNews Reporter Mike Nolting contributed to this story.