ELKINS — Celebratory and educational events have been postponed throughout the week as Randolph County faces an Extreme Cold Warning from the National Weather Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

With wind chills that may be as low as 15 below, according to the National Weather Service, through Thursday, events such as the Woodford United Methodist Church’s Martin Luther King Jr. march and celebration, and the Kump Education Center’s first “Tree Talk” lecture have been postponed to later dates.

Originally planned for Jan. 19, the Martin Luther King Jr. event was scheduled to begin with a symbolic march “to honor the many marches King organized for racial equality and civil rights” from the Jennings Randolph Federal Center to the Woodford United Methodist Church. The march would have been followed by a film presentation highlighting King’s speeches, a potluck meal and a keynote speech from Pastor Jeremiad Jasper. 

However, with heavy snow in the forecast over the weekend and the extreme cold temperatures predicted throughout the week, the march and event were postponed.

“After (Friday’s) snow and Saturday’s rain-snow mix, Sunday’s forecast is calling for five to seven inches on top of it all,” Jane Birdsong told The Inter-Mountain on Jan. 15. “We can’t ask anyone to come out in that.”

Birdsong said officials will announce their plan to reschedule the event in February.

The Kump Education Center also had to postpone their first in a series of “Tree Talk” lectures due to the weather.

A four-part series co-sponsored with the Elkins Tree Board, “Tree Talk” will offer community members an opportunity to “explore the vital role of trees in West Virginia’s landscapes, history and future.”

The first lecture, “Witness Trees of the Monongahela National Forest: Land Records and Ecological Data,” was scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 22; however, the Elkins Tree Board elected to postpone the lecture to next week.

“We are postponing the first talk until Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.,” Nanci Bross-Fregonara, Fourth Ward Elkins City Council member and member of the Elkins Tree Board, told The Inter-Mountain on Sunday.

The first lecture will be conducted by Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy, a research forester for the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Team. Thomas-Van Gundy will talk about the use of early land surveys and deeds to document the forest of Monongahela National Forests. 

Schools in Randolph, Barbour, Tucker and Upshur counties are closed today as well, due to the extreme cold temperatures. Pocohontas County had not made a decision on closure as of press time.

The Randolph County Board of Education is also scheduled to meet tonight at 5:30 p.m. As of press time, it is unclear if the meeting will be postponed.