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ELKINS -- "Damaging" high winds, which could bring down trees and cause power outages, are in the weather forecast today for parts of Randolph and Pocahontas counties.
The National Weather Service has released a High Wind Warning for the areas today, in effect from 1 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The areas affected include Elkins, Harman and Snowshoe.
Southeast winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 60 mph, are expected today.
"Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines," the warning reads. "Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.
"People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches," according to the warning. "If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive."
Residents should also secure or bring inside any loose objects that are outdoors, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.
"With high wind warnings, there is a threat of some downed trees and power lines, as well as spotty power outages," Joe Curtis of the NWS told The Inter-Mountain Monday afternoon. "Just like with any other wind event, it's always a good idea to secure any loose objects outside, and just make sure you don't have loose objects that could get blown around with the high winds."
Curtis said the strong winds will be accompanied by significant rainfall.
"We are expecting some pretty good rain coming with the wind," he said. "This is a pretty strong storm system, so we're going to see some precipitation start to move in to the area early Tuesday. It could start off as a little bit of ice, and then transition to all rain later in the day. It looks like we could get upwards of one or one and a half inches of rain, even a little higher as we get into the higher elevations, throughout the day on Tuesday."
The heavy rain, to be followed by snow on Wednesday, could result in flooding, Curtis said.
"There is no a flood watch out at this moment, but, yes, there is going to be a threat of flooding with that, as well," he noted. "It's going to continue to rain throughout Tuesday evening, and then switch over back to snow for Wednesday.
"We aren't expecting a whole lot of snow on Wednesday, maybe an additional inch or two. But you know, snow on top of quite a bit of rain, that could lead to some flooding concerns."