The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Upshur County as a winter storm makes its way across the Mountain State over the next few days.
The advisory, which runs through 7 a.m. Friday, says local residents should expect mixed precipitation that could make the roads treacherous, especially during the morning and evening commutes.
“Snow accumulations of 1 to 2 inches and ice accumulations of around one tenth of an inch,” are forecast, according to the NWS. “Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Slow down and use caution while traveling.”
Temperatures are expected to remain steady, with a low of 27 tonight and a high of 31 degrees on Thursday.
“Conditions will deteriorate toward midnight [Wednesday] as temperatures slowly fall,” the NWS notes in their forecast discussion. “As such, hazardous impacts will increase overnight as more efficient ice accretion is realized, with amounts to two tenths possible. A changeover to snow will occur for these locations as well with generally an inch or so in the predawn hours.”
The snow forecast varies widely, with the higher elevations in the state expected to get 3 to 5 inches of snow, increasing to 8 inches in the hardest hit areas.
The West Virginia Department of Highways issued a press release Wednesday afternoon about their preparations for the upcoming weather.
“Currently we are pre-treating with brine on our interstates to try to keep the ice from bonding on the pavement,” WVDOH District One Engineer Travis Knighton said in the release. “We will continue to work from our interstates out to our main routes and down to our secondary and tertiary routes to get those roads open as soon as possible.”
The DOH recently purchased 185 new snowplows, the release notes.
“We just want to assure everybody out there that our salt sheds are full, our equipment has been prepped and is ready, and we are on two 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, until this storm is over,” Knighton said. “The quarter-inch of ice that might be coming with this storm is what we’re concerned about.”
The DOH also asks residents to give snowplows plenty of room when you encounter them on the roadways.
“It’s just as treacherous for them to be out there the first time as it is for you,” Knighton said.
