CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is looking at several days of winter weather for the duration of the week. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for the highest elevations of the state in Pocahontas, Randolph, and Webster Counties. Meteorologist Simone Lewis at the Charleston weather bureau said it starts today with intense winds coming out of the frontal system.
“We have a strong cold front that’s going to be sweeping across the state today. That’s going to bring wind gusts at times well over 40 miles an hour and even more than 50 miles an hour at times,” she explained.
The higher elevations will see snowfall developing from the system. The accumulations in the next 24 hours in those counties are expected to be in the range of 4 to 8 inches, but it’s the strong winds blowing the snow which will create “blizzard” conditions.
“That’s going to create a setup where we have significantly reduced visibility associated with any snow,” she added.
Lowland counties can also expect some snow this evening, but it will only be a coating to an inch.
The system is the first of several waves of winter weather headed our way. Friday looks to bring a system which could generate up to four inches of snow in the lowlands of the state and higher amounts in the mountains. A similar, but separate system, is due to arrive Saturday night and into Sunday and will continue the snowy and raining precipitation.