Winter Weather — Pleasants, West Virginia

2018-02-17 · Pleasants, West Virginia

Wider weather episode

A low pressure system moved through the central Appalachians on the 17th, driving a lot of low level moisture into West Virginia. While this system also pulled warmer air northward resulting in heavy rain across the southern part of the state, it remained cold enough across northern West Virginia for a period of snow before transitioning to brief sleet or freezing rain, and then all rain. There was a narrow band that experienced a brief period of very heavy snow, with reports of 1 to 2 inches accumulating in an hour. This band was across portions of Wood, Pleasants, Ritchie and Tyler Counties. Even across individual counties, snowfall accumulations varied drastically based on the location of the heaviest band. For example, in Wood County, a member social media postings indicated 3 to 4 inches of snow across the southern part of the county, while near Parkersburg the US Army Corps of Engineers measured 1.5 inches. In Ritchie County, the emergency manager measured 3 inches before the snow changed to rain. Pleasants and Tyler Counties saw 2 to 3 inches of snow measured by CoCoRaHS volunteers and social media users.

Colder air lingered a bit longer across the higher mountains, namely in Pocahontas County where 3 to 6 inches of snow fell. For example, the cooperative observer at Snowshoe measured 6 inches, 5 inches of snow fell in near Bartow, and the observer in Frost received 4 inches.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 732039. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.