Photo by John McCabe - Chuck Patterson, manager of Straub Collision Center on 20th Street in Wheeling, plows snow Monday morning outside the business.

WHEELING — The sleet and the snow came and went overnight Sunday evening, and when dawn broke over the Ohio Valley Monday, things were cold but not dark — at least in peoples’ homes.

Appalachian Power reported no power outages Monday following winter storm Izzy, which comes in stark contrast to conditions elsewhere in West Virginia. AEP reports that outages in Kanawha County, for example, affected as many as 15,000 customers.

Appalachian Power representative Joelle Moray said Monday outages were averted locally due to extensive work keeping trees and vegetation pruned.

“We do a lot of work with our vegetation management program, that goes a long way toward helping when these big storms come in,” Moray said. “We do a lot of preventive maintenance throughout the year all throughout the distribution and transmission systems.

“If there’s a planned power outage in your neighborhood, that’s what it’s for. It’s to repair equipment, repair infrastructure, upgrade things to prevent large outages in times like this,” she added. “… In terms of preparing for (Izzy), we have meteorologists who work at AEP, they prepare us. … In that mode, we’re preparing our crews, making sure we have enough people, supplies to get the materials we need, making sure our storerooms are stocked, making sure our employees are as healthy as possible so we don’t have a ton of people out.”

On Monday, Moray said crews that had been kept on standby were instead sent south to help areas of the state that saw more outages.

“We actually got several contract crews that came from different areas, and they came and spent the night in Wheeling over the weekend,” she said. “When we realized we were not affected by utility issues in the Wheeling and Marshall County areas, we sent those crews south with our service territories in Kanawha County, Huntington, and Roanoke.”

Moray advised that though the worst of the snow may have passed, high winds remain a concern and that outages are still possible. She stressed the importance of avoiding any downed lines, which should always be treated as possibly live.

In Marshall County, Director of Emergency Management Tom Hart said county crews had been working through Sunday to treat the roads, though many secondary roads remained treacherous. Hart said the county had received numerous calls of vehicles sliding off the road, but that people had, for the most part, heeded weather and travel advisories.

“Roadways are still, for the most part, snow-covered and slick, particularly secondary roads,” he said. “Other than some vehicles sliding into some ditches and winter things like that, no major issues. We got anywhere from 6 to 9 inches of snow across the county, from various reports.

“It actually seems like residents and businesses were taking the necessary precautions, heeding travel advisories, and, for the most part, everything went pretty well,” he added. “Road crews have been … working hard to get roadways clear, so if you don’t have to go out, don’t. If you do have to go out, give yourself plenty of time and use a lot of caution.”

About 8 inches fell through much of Ohio County. Interstates 70 and 470 — which is the West Virginia Division of Highways’ primary responsibility during a snowstorm — remained in good shape Monday, with all lanes open and traffic moving near normal speeds.

Downtown Wheeling was in good shape through the day Monday, as crews plowed and business owners cleared sidewalks.

Other roads remained passable yet snow-covered. Many Ohio County residents were seen Monday morning with their shovels, snow blowers and plows digging out from the fresh, powdery snow.

Popular sledding venues such as Oglebay Park, Mount Olivet Park and other spots were busy as well Monday, as families took the opportunity to partake in some old-fashioned, high-speed snowbound fun by careening down hills on a piece of plastic at breakneck speeds.