Winter Weather — Ridges of E Monongalia and Nw Preston, West Virginia

2020-02-07 · Ridges of E Monongalia and Nw Preston, West Virginia

Event narrative

A member of the public reported 5.5 inches of accumulation 12 miles south of Morgantown.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure developed along a nearly stationary boundary draped across the Central Appalachians, and then lifted across the Mid-Atlantic states on February 7th. The storm system brought rain initially on the 6th, but cold air filled in quickly behind the departing surface low during the nighttime hours, leading to a brief period of mixed precipitation, and then finally a change to all snow. Snow was most widespread during the morning hours, before tapering to more scattered snow showers outside of the ridges during the afternoon. Snow finally ended in the higher elevations during the evening/overnight hours leading into February 8th.

With the associated upper trough taking on a negative tilt, and with support from coupled jets aloft and strong cold advection, snowfall rates were sufficient to produce several inches of accumulation across much of the forecast area. This system was thus the most significant winter storm of the 2019-2020 season for the NWS Pittsburgh area of responsibility.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 877251. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.