ELKINS – Heavy rainfall coupled with snow melt in the area caused extensive flooding on Friday – and officials say at least one more inch of rainfall could fall through today.

Hazardous weather conditions forced several streets and road closures in the area on Friday. Schools were dismissed early in multiple counties, including in Randolph, Barbour, Upshur, Tucker, and Pocahontas counties.

In Elkins, Randolph Avenue, by Colonial Court, and Jamaica Lane, near Cupp’s Furniture, are among several roads closed to traffic Friday.

“We have some really high water next to Colonial Court and Cupps Furniture,” Randolph County Sheriff Rob Elbon told The Inter-Mountain Friday afternoon. “The traffic in Elkins is backed up clear up the Five-Lane because of the closure on Randolph Avenue – it’s pretty bad from McDonald’s clear up to the Suzuki shop.

“The water is up pretty good all over the county and people really need to be careful while out driving. Honestly, people need to stay out of any high water they run into, because you just don’t know what the road surface is like underneath and sometimes it’s washed out. You can end up in a rescue type situation if you decide to drive in these kinds of high waters. It’s just best to turn around and go a different way if at all possible.”

Elbon said once the sun goes down, it becomes even more treacherous for motorists.

“It’s even more dangerous, especially at nighttime because it’s hard to see it until you get in it,” he said. “So, people just need to be real vigilant about it and watch what they are doing.”

The rain slowed somewhat later in the afternoon, but Simone Lewis from the NWS in Charleston told The Inter-Mountain on Friday that Elkins and the surrounding area wasn’t out of the woods just yet.

“The Elkins area could easily get another inch of rain through tomorrow morning,” she said. “There was quite a bit of snowmelt there and our observer at Davis & Elkins College reported that there was about two inches of snow depth lost on the ground. There was quite a bit of water in that snow, about half an inch to an inch. So, with the melting and the heavy rain, some flooding occurred with creeks and streams in the Elkins area.”

A Flood Warning was issued by the National Weather Service Friday to run through this morning for the following counties: Randolph, Upshur, Barbour, Tucker, and Pocahontas County.

Rain in the area is expected to change to snow early this morning before gradual clearing in the afternoon. The high temperature today is expected to reach 40 degrees. Overnight lows will be around 25 degrees with partly cloudy skies. Sunday’s high temperature is expected to be around 50 degrees with mostly cloudy skies.