An arctic cold front swept through on New Years Day, bringing much colder air into the state. Southwest or west winds gusted into the 35 to 45 mph range during the afternoon. A few exposed locations had stronger gusts. Light rain showers first changed to snow showers over the high mountains by 2300E on the 1st. Wind blown snow showers were common throughout the area after 0700E on Monday the 2nd. As with the nature of snow showers, visibility varied greatly. The highest concentrations of snow showers were from Monday afternoon through Monday night. Yet, with a strong mid level disturbance passing on the 3rd, the snow showers lingered into that afternoon. A clearer and cold night followed. Temperatures remained mostly in the teens and lower 20s during the daylight hours on the 3rd. At the extreme high elevation of Snowshoe, the high temperature was only 5 degrees on the 3rd.
The total snow accumulations were mostly from 2 to 6 inches across Barbour, Lewis, Fayette, and Raleigh Counties. Snow accumulations of 3 to 8 inches were measured in Upshur County. Pocahontas, Webster, and Nicholas Counties had snow accumulations from 3 to 10 inches. The upper range occurred over the highest elevations around Snowshoe, Waneta, and Richwood. The snow accumulation across Randolph County ranged from 4 to 6 inches around Elkins to over a foot across some of the highest elevations. Snow accumulations of 15 to 18 inches were measured in the vicinity of Pickens, Helvetia, and Kumbrabow State Forest.