Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in West Virginia, December 29 to 30, 2016

A strong cold front crossed the Middle Ohio River Valley and Central Appalachians overnight from December 28 to 29. As cold air surged in, rain changed to snow through the afternoon of the 29th. Under northwest flow, upslope snow showers lingered in the northern mountainous counties of West Virginia through late afternoon on the 30th. The highest snow accumulations occurred along the ridges of Randolph and Pocahontas counties, where 6 to 11 inches of snow fell. The cooperative observer at Bartow reported 7 to 8 inches of snow, with even higher amounts along the ridges. Cooperative observer and public reports around Snowshoe were 7 to 10 inches. Farther south, across the higher terrain of West Virginia’s central mountainous, generally 4 to 7 inches of snow accumulated. The lowlands of West Virginia received much less as bands of snow showers crossed. Accumulations within these bands totaled 1 to 2 inches with very little between the snow bands. This still caused some travel issues, such as near Clarksburg in Harrison County where a quick inch of snow lead to multiple accidents and a short closure of Interstate 79 in northern Harrison County.