Another very strong Arctic cold front plunged through the forecast area allowing temperatures to plummet to record cold levels and definitely the coldest since January 2014. Strong low-level cold advection and northwest upslope flow supported a period of upslope snow showers across the western mountains, some of which spread further east toward the Blue Ridge.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
Another very strong Arctic cold front plunged through the forecast area allowing temperatures to plummet to record cold levels and definitely the coldest since January 2014. Strong low-level cold advection and northwest upslope flow supported a period of upslope snow showers across the western mountains, some of which spread further east toward the Blue Ridge. In addition, a pre-frontal upper-level impulse also provided for some light snow across the Piedmont. The snowfall combined with quick freezing of any water on the roadways caused a number of traffic issues along Interstate 77 in Mercer county.
Here are the snowfall amounts observed in the West Virginia counties within the National Weather Service Blacksburg, Virginia forecast area:
Western Greenbrier County - 4.0 inches at Quinwood to 5.0 inches at McRoss,|Eastern Greenbrier County - 1.0 inch at White Sulphur Springs to 3.0 inches at Lewisburg,|Mercer County - 3.0 inches at Princeton,|Summers County - 1.0 inch 2SSE Hinton to 4.0 inches at Jumping Branch.
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 18, 10:24 AM EST, 1 hour 36 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The McRoss COOP observer measured 5.0 inches of snow, while the Department of Highways observed 4.0 inches at Quinwood.
The Summers County 911 Center reported 4.0 inches of snow at Jumping Branch, while the Hinton COOP observer measured only 1.0 inch of snow.
A spotter measured 3.0 inches of snow in Lewisburg, while COOP observers measured only 1.0 inch in Alderson and White Sulphur Springs.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, February 2015
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 564287, 564289, 564288.