Ohio Valley Sees First Significant Snowfall of 2024
Derek Redd Trending
WHEELING – Ohio Valley residents woke up to snow-covered roads and some treacherous driving conditions, as a winter storm dropped snow on the region through much of Friday.
According to the National Weather Service Office in Pittsburgh, about 2.5 inches of snow fell in Wheeling between Thursday night and Friday afternoon. While the main roads around the area were clear and drivable by Friday morning, neighborhood roads were a bit less manageable. Drivers had to fend for themselves as snow plows and salt trucks had not yet reached their areas.
The Wheeling area fared better in the storm than many other cities around West Virginia. Snow fell in most of the Mountain State.
Reports had Charleston seeing nearly five inches of snow as of Friday afternoon, with Clarksburg getting six inches. Parsons, W.Va., in Tucker County, reported 11.5 inches of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service.
West Virginia schools mostly ground to a halt because of the weather. All 55 counties' schools were either closed or had a non-traditional learning day Friday. The entire Northern Panhandle had its schools closed. West Liberty University was closed, as were West Virginia and Marshall universities.
The weather also altered the schedules of two major high school sporting events. The Friday schedules for both the OVAC wrestling and small school swimming championships were postponed. The wrestling tournament moved its Friday slate to Saturday morning, while the small school swimming championships likely will be held Monday at Brooke High School. The big school championships will move their start time today from 11 a.m. to noon.
The snow will end by this afternoon but it will remain cold through the weekend, with highs in the 20s and lows in the teens both Saturday and Sunday. The temperature will climb above freezing Monday with a forecast high of 38. Rain should wash away the snow next week, as showers are predicted Tuesday through Friday and the highs could climb into the 40s and close to 50 by Thursday.