Heavy Snow in West Virginia, January 20 to 21, 2011

Name: Heavy Snow in West Virginia, January 20 to 21, 2011
Start: 2011-01-20T11:00
End: 2011-01-21T04:00
Location: West Virginia

January 20 to 21, 2011 · NWS RLX · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A weak low pressure passed through the Tennessee Valley into West Virginia late on the 20th. As colder air moved in, 3 to 6 inches of snow fell in less than 12 hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.

A weak low pressure passed through the Tennessee Valley into West Virginia late on the 20th. As colder air moved in, 3 to 6 inches of snow fell in less than 12 hours. The heaviest snow fell during the evening hours.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 20, 7:56 AM EST, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 7:56 AM EST, 3 hours 4 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 20, 4:05 AM EST, 6 hours 55 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
405 AM EST THU JAN 20 2011

KYZ102-103-105-WVZ005>008-013>016-018-024>030-039-040-210915-
CARTER-BOYD-LAWRENCE KY-WAYNE-CABELL-MASON-JACKSON WV-LINCOLN-PUTNAM-
KANAWHA-ROANE-CALHOUN-MINGO-LOGAN-BOONE-CLAY-BRAXTON-GILMER-LEWIS-
UPSHUR-BARBOUR-
405 AM EST THU JAN 20 2011

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
10 AM EST FRIDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST KENTUCKY AND MUCH
OF WEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

WVZ033>038-046-047-210915-
MCDOWELL-WYOMING-RALEIGH-FAYETTE-NICHOLAS-WEBSTER-POCAHONTAS-
RANDOLPH-
405 AM EST THU JAN 20 2011

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 1 AM
EST SATURDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL WEST
VIRGINIA...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

KYZ101-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-WVZ009>011-017-019-020-031-032-
210915-
GREENUP-PERRY-MORGAN-ATHENS-WASHINGTON-JACKSON OH-VINTON-MEIGS-
GALLIA-LAWRENCE OH-WOOD-PLEASANTS-TYLER-WIRT-RITCHIE-DODDRIDGE-
HARRISON-TAYLOR-
405 AM EST THU JAN 20 2011

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 AM
EST FRIDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST
KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO...CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHERN WEST
VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER STORM WARNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER STORM WARNING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

VAZ003-004-210915-
DICKENSON-BUCHANAN-
405 AM EST THU JAN 20 2011

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM
EST FRIDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Tyler

When: January 20, 11:00 AM EST to January 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Tyler forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.465, -80.885 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pleasants

When: January 20, 11:00 AM EST to January 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Pleasants forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.371, -81.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wood

When: January 20, 11:00 AM EST to January 21, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Wood forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.211, -81.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Doddridge

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Doddridge forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.269, -80.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Harrison

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Harrison forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.284, -80.380 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ritchie

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Ritchie forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.178, -81.063 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lewis

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Lewis forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 38.996, -80.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Taylor

When: January 20, 1:00 PM EST to January 21, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Taylor forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.336, -80.046 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Barbour

When: January 20, 3:00 PM EST to January 21, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Barbour forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 39.133, -80.003 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Upshur

When: January 20, 3:00 PM EST to January 21, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Upshur forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 38.898, -80.233 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in West Virginia in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, January 2011

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 268856, 268857, 268858, 268859, 268860, 268862, 268864, 268861, 268863, 268865.