Winter Storm in Monroe, West Virginia

In Monroe County, four inches of snow fell by the morning of January 6th, and around one-quarter of an inch of ice had accumulated. Over 1,200 customers lost power by the morning of January 6th. Key Impacts: power outages and traffic accidents.

A major winter storm brought numerous impacts to West Virginia Sunday January 5th and into Monday January 6th. A strong surface low pressure system moved northeastward from the Central Plains and into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, with the associated warm front lifting northward from the southeast into the lower Mid Atlantic. Precipitation began as snow, but strong warm air advection ahead of the low pressure center, and behind the warm front, led to a transition to all liquid precipitation. Surface temperatures remained below freezing, and so a prolonged period of freezing rain led to ice accumulations up to a quarter of an inch overnight and during the Monday morning commute. Heaviest snowfall accumulations were north of Interstate 64, and heaviest ice accumulations were in the Greenbrier River Valley. Thousands had lost power by the morning of January 6th.