CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The National Weather Service indicates a winter storm tracking across the country will arrive in West Virginia around mid-day Friday and will come from the southwestern counties up through the mountain region.
A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued from 4 p.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday.
“The cold air behind it is going to be moving quick, but the storm itself is arriving Friday afternoon, lasting through the night, and then exiting on Saturday, so that’s an average duration,” said Meteorologist Tom Mazza at the Charleston Weather Bureau.
Mazza admitted the storm is unusual because it’s coming in from the south and includes a wide snow band which will put down considerable flakes in places which normally don’t get a lot of snow.
“There will be heavier snow tracking to the south of West Virginia with this. We’re going to have lighter snow amounts in the central Appalachians up in to the Ohio Valley and even the Great Lakes,” said Mazza.
The Great Lakes system has it’s own weather pattern which will follow up the storm on Friday with frigid air late Saturday, but will quickly be replaced by warm air which could push the temperature above freezing for the first time in days by Sunday afternoon.
Accumulations are projected to range from 2 to 4 inches across the lowlands of West Virginia and southern mountains. Northern and Central mountains can expect 3 to 6 inches and the eastern panhandle will see lesser amounts of about an inch or two.
The system will be gone by Sunday with moderating temperatures.