West Virginia, 2015

Winter Weather in West Virginia, February 14 to 15, 2015

February 14 to 15, 2015 · NWS RNK · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The same Arctic cold front that brought high winds and dangerously low wind chills to the region was also responsible for a notable amount of upslope snow. The cold advection was so intense that snow showers made it as far east as the Blue Ridge at times where lighter accumulations of snow were noted.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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  • Floods
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  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 RNK wrote it up.

The same Arctic cold front that brought high winds and dangerously low wind chills to the region was also responsible for a notable amount of upslope snow. The cold advection was so intense that snow showers made it as far east as the Blue Ridge at times where lighter accumulations of snow were noted. In Mercer county, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported that there were several vehicle accidents and a number of vehicles in ditches. At least 13 people sought refuge in a shelter at the Bluefield Union Mission. Here are snow totals observed from the southeast West Virginia counties within the forecast area:

Western Greenbrier County - 2.0 inches of snow at Alderson to nearly 7.0 inches of snow at McRoss. The average snowfall in western Greenbrier county was 4.0 inches,|Eastern Greenbrier County - 1.0 of snow at White Sulphur Springs to 3.0 inches of snow at Lewisburg,|Mercer County - 2.0 inches of snow at Lerona to nearly 6.0 inches at the Mercer County Airport,|Monroe County - only 1/2 inch of snow was observed in Union,|Summers County - 4.0 inches of snow at Bluestone Dam.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 14, 10:02 AM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 10:02 AM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Western Greenbrier

When
February 14, 12:00 PM EST to February 15, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Western Greenbrier forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
37.947, -80.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The COOP observer in McRoss measured 6.8 inches of snow. The West Virginia Department of Highways reported snowfall amounts of 4.0 inches in Crawley to 6.0 inches in Quinwood. The public measured 2.0 inches of snow in Alderson. The average snowfall amount across western Greenbrier county was 4.0 inches.

Winter Weather, Mercer

When
February 14, 12:00 PM EST to February 15, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Mercer forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
37.406, -81.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The COOP observer at the Mercer County Airport measured 5.7 inches of snow. Elsewhere across the county, the public observed 2.0 inches of snow at Lerona to 4.0 inches at Bluefield, Athens, and Glenwood. WVVA Television also measured 4.0 inches of snow in Bluefield outside their studios.

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in West Virginia in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, February 2015

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: 563263, 563265.