CHARLESTON, W.Va.– In light of the winter storm, Governor Jim Justice has declared a State of Emergency for all 55 counties in the state.
He has also directed the West Virginia National Guard to mobilize personnel to assist local communites and citizens in response to the anticipated impacts of Winter Storm Blair.
The Guard is activating approximately 75 personnel for Civil Assistance Teams to provide assistants to state and local officials. The WVNG Joint Operations Center will be on full alert and will provide 24-hour monitoring and support for the duration of the storm. Additional personnel will be stationed at five armory locations in Eleanor, Gassaway, Summersville, Glen Jean and Bluefield to ensure they are their for rapid response capabilities if needed.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Chris Dickman says the projected snow and ice accumulations haven’t changed.
“Significant amount of snow and ice, most of the snow will really be in the northern West Virginia area,” Dickman said. “Basically from the top of West Virginia down south towards Charleston, expecting a little over six inches of snow for most of the area there.”
Along with the snow accumulation, the NWS is forecasting that the storm hitting Sunday will also bring mix precipitation for Wayne, Cabell, Mason, Jackson, Lincoln, Putnam, Kanawha, Roane, Calhoun, Boone, Clay, Braxton, Gilmer and Lewis countries. These counties can expect ice accumulations a quarter to a half of an inch thick.
Dickman said that the ice accumulations are what they are really focused on.
“The real thing is the ice accumulation that we’re watching, there’s a lot that we can see about quarter of an inch of ice,” he said.
For counties such as Wood, Pleasants, Tyler, Wirt, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison and Taylor counties they are expected to receive ice accumulation of up to two tenths of an inch.
Higher elevations of Tucker and Preston counties could see snow accumulations between 8 and 11 inches and ice accumulations less than one-tenth of an inch, with wind gusts as high as 35.
The NWS is also projecting extreme winds and frigid temperatures across the state. The system may result in difficult to impossible travel condition and the potential for widespread, extended power outages.