Winter Weather — Northwest Randolph, West Virginia

2023-01-31 · Northwest Randolph, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

In the wake of a cold front, a strong low pressure system ushered in colder air into the Central Appalachians on the evening of January 30th into the early morning hours of the 31st. This prompted a transition from rain to a wintry mix of precipitation across West Virginia during the overnight hours. The influx of winter weather, coupled with cooling road temperatures, led to minor disruptions of the morning work commute and school delays and closures on the 31st. Icy conditions on the road led to early morning car accidents along Route 35 in Putnam County and reports of a semi-truck ran into a barrier along the Washington Street overpass on Interstate 64 in Charleston. As temperatures rose for the day, lingering precipitation transitioned back over to all rain.

Freezing rain resulted in a tenth of an inch of ice accumulations in portions of the state, with the majority of airports measuring freezing rain at the airfield. The Yeager Airport had 0.10 inches of freezing rain and the Huntington Airport measured 0.17 inches. The ASOS at the Parkersburg airport measured just under 0.05 inches of freezing rain before switching over to a mix of light sleet and slow right after midnight.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1068363. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.