OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – It was a nice day today around southern West Virginia outside of the gusty winds. Temperatures today topped out in the 60s for the first time in quite a while. 
Our weekend is also starting with some fairly pleasant weather, as temperatures tomorrow are expected to rise into the lower 50s. While that is above the normal for this time of the year, it’s around 10 degrees cooler than it was this afternoon. A low-pressure system to our south is going to give us a chance for some showers. 
These showers will start as rain, but as the low that is giving us the chance for rain passes to our southeast, it is forecast to become a monster storm and will pull down some cold air from Canada along with some significant moisture from the Great Lakes. This means that any rain that falls in the evening will change over to snow, and with the extra moisture, the showers will become much more intense.
The heavy snow continues on Sunday as the flow is perfect for some high elevation enhancement – truly, the lakes are open for business. The coastal low, meanwhile, will bombard the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston with heavy amounts of snow, along with strong winds.
Highs for the second half of the weekend with this strong northerly flow will only rise to around the freezing mark. That means that some of the precipitation in the southern coalfields could change over to a rain/snow mix or plain old rain. That could cut down on the accumulations there. Otherwise, we’ll see a heavy, wet snow.
The lake-effect machine remains cranked up through Monday before we get a break from the snow.
By the time it’s all said and done, some of the highest elevation areas will see more than a foot of snow. The more heavily populated areas along Route 19 and I-77 will pick up 5-8″ of snow in much of Raleigh and Fayette County, and 3-5″ from about Ghent south to the Virginia line. The Greenbrier Valley will see less, as the lake-effect will mainly affect areas along and to the northwest of the spine of Appalachians.
With the chance for heavy snow in mind, the National Weather Service offices that cover our area have issued a Winter Storm Watch through 7 p.m. Monday for parts of the area.
Even after the snow leaves, we keep the cold air. Lows on Tuesday morning will be in the teens, and highs will be in the lower 30s. It does warm up later in the forecast – just in time for another system to arrive late Wednesday. At least, temperatures will warm up, and the precipitation will fall in the wet form, rather than the wintry form.
Click below for the video version of the forecast…
