Jan. 14—bluefield — Bitterly cold temperatures and even colder wind chills are expected today before sunny skies and gradually warming temperatures offer any relief from the winter storms that have hit West Virginia and Virginia.
The National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va. put out a hazardous weather advisory for Mercer, Monroe, Greenbrier and Summers counties about possible wind chills as low as zero tonight with higher elevations seeing wind chills as low as 5 degrees below zero. A low temperature of 11 degrees was expected Monday night with tonight’s low reaching 5 degrees and 10 degrees Wednesday evening with mostly clear skies. There is a 40% chance of snow tonight with 1 inch to half an inch accumulation.
“There is an arctic cold front sliding through the area and the coldest night is going to be Tuesday,” said meteorologist Robert Stonefield. “Other nights will still be cold, but there will be lows around 0 to plus 8 above and that is for Tuesday night. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning will have wind chills below zero and we’ll more than likely have a cold weather advisory.”
Forecasters with the weather service’s Charleston office expected a low of 9 degrees Monday night in Raleigh County followed by a nighttime low of 4 degrees today and 6 degrees Wednesday night with mostly clear skies. There is a 40% chance of snow today with 1 to 2 inches of snow expected.
Further south in Tazewell County, Va., the weather service’s Blacksburg,Va. office posted a cold weather advisory Monday which is scheduled to end at 10 a.m. today. A nighttime low of 6 degrees was forecasted for today with a 40% chance of snow followed Wednesday with a nighttime low of 10 degrees under mostly clear skies.
Tazewell County is also looking at the possibility of 1 to 1 and a half inches of snow, Stonefield said.
A warm front is expected to start moving across the region Thursday, raising temperatures to as high as 43 degrees Thursday and Friday.
Forecasters and the Mercer County Office of Emergency Management were advising to bring pets indoors or provide them with a warm shelter. People were advised to wear appropriate winter clothing if they must venture out in frigid and windy weather.
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com