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ELKINS -- The Mountain State Forest Festival could see on and off rain showers and possibly worse weather due to a hurricane set to make landfall in the U.S. on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
The 86th annual MSFF next week is expected to see some rain, though just how much is yet to be determined, said Simone Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"It's looking pretty showery, right now," Lewis told The Inter-Mountain. "With that being said, it's looking kind of on and off, and they're not looking real heavy next week, but of course, if that tropical system does end up moving over the state this weekend, then, yeah, you're looking at some heavier rainfall."
Lewis said the state could face the remnants of Hurricane Helene from Friday into the weekend and possibly into next week, though it's "very up in the air."
Hurricane Helene, known as of now as Tropical Storm Helene, is currently off the coasts of Cuba and Mexico. It is expected to become a Category 3 hurricane Thursday morning and will make landfall in Florida on Thursday evening, traveling up the country during Friday and the weekend.
"Right now, some models say that it's going to go directly over the state of West Virginia... but a lot of the models are actually taking this west of the state, and if that happens we're not gonna get much of anything out of it," Lewis said.
The Weather Channel currently predicts that rain could continue in Elkins until next Wednesday morning, possibly affecting Forest Festival events such as the 10K Run/5K Walk & Kids Fun Run on Sunday and the nightly Citizens Bank of WV Festival Stage shows at the Elkins Town Square Rotary Amphitheater.
Most of West Virginia is currently under a Hazardous Weather Outlook until Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, including Randolph, Upshur, Barbour and Pocahontas counties. The NWS warns that "shower and storm chances continue through the work week" and that "heavy downpours may impose localized flooding concerns."