People sometimes question meteorologists' forecasts, but the prediction of 16 inches or more of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning was well on the mark. The last weekend before Christmas was expected to be a huge shopping weekend with plenty of traffic on the roads. Instead the overnight snowfall caused Gov. Joe Manchin to declare a state of emergency and throughout the region happenings outside of the home came to a standstill.
Elkins broke the January 1996 record of snowfall within 24 hours. That year, Elkins received 18.8 inches of snow during a 24-hour period and this weekend -20.7 inches fell in 24 hours.
According to Sunday's National Weather Service data, there were snow depths of 26 inches at Cass, 20 inches at Harman, 18 inches in Elkins, 24 inches at Hendricks, 22 inches at Canaan Valley, 25 inches in Slaty Fork, 18 inches in Tallmansville, 10 inches in Weston, 28 inches at Marlinton and 13 inches in Belington.
By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Manchin declared a state of emergency and cautioned motorists to stay off the roads; but the call was made well after some travelers ventured out. Those who did attempt travel Saturday morning had difficulty determining exactly where road edges were and veering off the path into ditches was not uncommon.
Friday night the West Virginia Division of Highway trucks and workers spread salt and materials on the road, which is typical before a large snow storm, WVDOH District Engineer Mike Moran said. According to Morgan, equipment is holding up well and he expects secondary roads to be clear later today if there is no other snow.
Those stuck at home could see the extent of the storm on social networking sites, which were loaded with images of snow blankets and comments about one of the worst storms in recent memory. There were also reports of snow drifts waist high and power outages throughout the area.
According to the Allegheny Power Web site, customers in Elkins and Parsons had electric restored Sunday night; however, 1,331 customers in the Buckhannon area were without power and the estimated time of restoration was listed as "to be determined."
A prepared statement from the Upshur County Office of Emergency Management says electric restoration will be slow because of the snow and down trees.
"It is probable many will be without power beyond today," the statement said.
A Red Cross shelter is available at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Buckhannon and may be reached at 304-472-6904. Hot meals are not planned for the shelter.
Anyone with special needs who requires assistance may call the Upshur County Emergency Operations Center today before 2 p.m. in order to be included in contingency planning.
Any retailers with K-1 Kerosene in stock are asked to call the UCOEM at 304-472-4983 or a local radio station.
Although local retailers predicted the last weekend before Christmas would be busy with last minute shoppers, the massive amount of snow put the last minute gift purchasing to a halt.
Around 8 p.m. Saturday, many stores in Elkins had locked their doors or were preparing to close early. Wal-Mart had closed its doors by 6:30 p.m. Saturday and its parking lot was empty except for snow plows by 8:15 p.m. A few shoppers ventured to Kmart, which was preparing to close at 9 p.m. because of the snow.
When the storm began Friday night, one Elkins resident and her family were traveling along U.S. 19 on their way to Florida trying to beat the storm.
Nicole Hinkle, 19, said between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. vehicles were at a standstill for approximately two hours along the road.
"Everyone was getting out of their cars trying to figure out why traffic was moving at all, other than the obvious fact that there was over a foot of snow on the ground," Hinkle said.
After finally getting off the roadway Hinkle and her family were unable to find a hotel room and stranded travelers were simply standing in hotel lobbies. She said the police came into the hotel and told everyone to go to a high school until the Interstates could be re-opened.
"Everyone was sleeping in the cafeteria on the lunch tables, but a lot if us were just watching TV because it's almost impossible to sleep on a hard cold table," Hinkle said. "It was miserable because everyone was mad that they couldn't travel, so it was a pretty cranky atmosphere."
After making it back on the highway, there were hundreds of cars trapped along the side of the road, she said.
"They all had like 2 feet of snow on them and we saw lots of wrecks where even tractor trailers slid off the road and totaled cars," Hinkle said. "It was insane. It was honestly like a maze where we had to dodge hitting cars trapped along the interstate."
By Sunday she was able to get back on the road and made it to the Florida coast.
"I have never been so excited to see a bed in my life," she commented. "I honestly never thought it would take us probably 36 hours to get here, and the worst part was that most of that time was stuck in West Virginia in a blizzard."
Hinkle says she'll remember the storm, the troubles and the "crazy adventure" forever.
"I'm 19 years old and I honestly don't think I have ever seen a snow storm like this before," Hinkle said. "The snow accumulated so fast that people didn't know how to react to it. It honestly put a huge burden on everyone because people were snowed in."
This morning streets in downtown Elkins and secondary roads were still snow covered, however, the Beverly Five-lane is clear.
According to the WVDOT Web site, Corridor H between Elkins and Weston is wet with snow spots.
