PARSONS, W.Va. — Tourism leaders in West Virginia’s higher elevations are looking forward to more snow with the next winter storm system approaching Thursday night into Friday morning.
Jessica Waldo, executive director of the Tucker County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said more snow means more visitors to ski resorts, restaurants and more.
“If you talk to any of the lodging facilities, they’ll tell you as soon as there’s snow in the forecast, people start calling to make reservations right away,” she told MetroNews.
This past week has been a huge draw for Canaan Valley and Timberline Mountain resorts in Davis, also for Snowshoe Mountain in neighboring Pocahontas County, who are benefiting from the foot of snow that fell earlier this week. Several more inches are expected to fall this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Waldo said fall and winter are their peak seasons for travel, and when the snow covers the mountains, it makes it that much better to take photos.
“It’s a vibe that you can’t explain or experience anywhere else,” she said. “We’re snow people so when it starts snowing, we get happy. We get excited. We want to go out and play in it.”
Waldo is encouraging more people to visit Tucker County this weekend, even if they don’t like to ski.
“I always try to remind people you don’t have to be a skier or snowboarder to enjoy the snow. Canaan has tubing and an ice-skating rink and Black Waterfalls has a sled run,” she said.
In Tucker County alone about 18 inches of snow was on the ground Thursday afternoon. The last storm produced about 7-10 inches with more several more inches expected in the next storm.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for much of West Virginia from 7 p.m. Thursday until 10 a.m. Saturday with snow accumulations of about 6-12 inches. The higher snow amounts are expected for the eastern mountains.
Wind gusts could reach as high as 45 miles per hour, making it feel even colder.