The rain will go away - or at least begin to taper off - by this afternoon.
The National Weather Service in Charleston issued a flood watch Monday afternoon for Randolph, Upshur, Barbour, Lewis and Pocahontas counties - in addition to counties in southern West Virginia, Northeast Kentucky and southeastern Virginia. The watch will remain in effect through this afternoon.
Katie Garrett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a cold front is the culprit.
"It looks like the front is going to be pretty fast moving," Garrett said Monday evening.
"If the front slows down, the rain could last a little longer, but I don't think that's going to be the case. It should be a fast-moving event."
While central West Virginia is likely to see about 2.5 inches of rainfall, southern sections of the state could be pummelled by 3 inches, Garrett said.
"You're going to see some pretty heavy rain," she said. "Pretty much the entire state of West Virginia is going to see some rainfall."
Though less severe than a flood warning, a flood watch means conditions are such that flooding could occur in some areas within the next 24 to 48 hours, Garrett said. According to the NWS's website, a developing low-pressure system could usher in severe weather across much of the East Coast.
However, the NWS is predicting mostly sunny skies will blanket Elkins Wednesday, with a high temperature of 64 degrees.
Contact Katie Kuba by email at kkuba@theintermountain.com.
