ELKINS — Several Randolph County schools sent students home early Tuesday and pockets of residents were left without electricity as high winds wreaked havoc in the area.

More than 600 Mon Power customers in the Valley Head area of the county lost power due to high winds Tuesday, officials said.

“The biggest part of the power outages reported were in the Valley Head area,” Randolph County Office of Emergency Management 911 Center Chief of Operations Robert Phillips told The Inter-Mountain. “They have guys over there walking in the woods trying to find where the problems are. They were able to get some customers back up and running, but most are still without power in that area.”

Beverly also saw power outages, as did several other areas in the county, Phillips said. Close to 300 customers were reported without power in Beverly, he said. 

“We had power outages in the Coalton, Mabie, Cassidy and Beverly areas of the county,” he said. “We have trees down in the Huttonsville area, as well as in Harman, where they are also dealing with some snow and ice from early in the morning – it was a mess over there.”

School was canceled in Harman on Tuesday due to the weather, and power outages in Mill Creek forced early dismissals at Tygarts Valley High School and George Ward Elementary.

“We canceled school in Harman on Tuesday because the weather was terrible on that side of the county,” Randolph County School Superintendent Debbie Schmidlen told The Inter-Mountain. “The mountains were very slick and there were multiple accidents over that way. It was just pouring snow in Harman early in the morning on Monday — it was a winter wonderland over there.”

Schmidlen said students in Mill Creek were sent home after Tygarts Valley High School lost power.

“Out of an abundance of caution and Tygarts Valley losing its power, I was concerned that George Ward would lose power too, so we went ahead and sent those students home at 11:30 a.m.,” she said.

Schmidlen added that Randolph County Schools would continue to monitor the weather before making a decision about any cancellations today.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday also issued a flood watch until 11 a.m. today for northwest Randolph County, including Elkins.

“Heavy rain may fall on a deep primed snowpack leading to the melt increasing. Flows in streams and rivers may increase quickly and reach critical levels,” the watch states.

“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks,” the watch reads.

“Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.”

With the threat of high winds and potential flooding, Gov. Jim Justice declared a State of Preparedness for all 55 counties in the state on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a weather watch, warning, or advisory for all 55 West Virginia counties, which include high wind warnings, winter weather advisories, and flood watches, which have the potential to cause power outages and flooding. 

Phillips said downed trees, power lines, flooding and any other issues caused by the weather can be reported by calling 911.