Snow storm blankets local area

The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley Pioneer Insurance Agency employees Matthew Stalnaker, left, and Chris Stalnaker remove snow from the sidewalk in front of the business’s location on Davis Avenue in Elkins Monday morning.
ELKINS — Area commuters were forced to dig a considerable amount of snow out from around vehicles and off sidewalks and driveways Monday morning after the region was hit hard by heavy snowfall overnight.
Winter Storm Blair dumped a considerable amount of snow around the region with amount totals varying by location. Elkins saw close to 5 inches of snow overnight, while 4 inches fell in the Buckhannon area.
Marlinton in Pocahontas County was one of the worst areas hit, as it had close to 11 inches of snowfall overnight. Snow continued to fall throughout the day on Monday and was expected to continue through this morning’s hours.
A State of Emergency and Winter Storm Warning was issued for the state Sunday evening, forcing the closure of schools across West Virginia, including those in Randolph, Tucker, Barbour, Upshur and Pocahontas counties.
In addition to school closings, the Courthouses in Randolph, Upshur, Tucker and Barbour counties were both closed on Monday due to the storm. The Courthouse Annexes in Randolph and Upshur County were also closed, along with the Circuit, Family and Magistrate Courts. All of the aforementioned facilities are scheduled to reopen today.
“On Sunday night I got together with the other elected officials in the county, including (Sheriff) Rob Elbon, (County Clerk) Brenda Wiseman, Judge (David) Wilmoth and (Prosecuting Attorney) Michael Parker,” Randolph County Commission President David Kesling told The Inter-Mountain Monday.
“We talked about the storm and its potential and I also reached out to other commissioners from other counties to see if they were closing,” Kesling said.
“We felt it was in the best interest of our employees and the citizens of the county that we close as well. And then Judge Wilmoth made the decision to close the court also. We felt it was best to keep people off the roads so they can be safe and the DOH can do their part.”
The Randolph County Office of Emergency Management has established emergency shelter-warning sites throughout the county. The sites will be utilized in the event of a long-term power outage, in which citizens might be without heat for an extended period of time.
If these sites need to be opened, please contact the Randolph County 911 Center at 304-636-2000 and the OEM will make arrangements to open the site in the area where it’s needed.
Snow is expected to stop this afternoon, with cloudy skies and a low temperature of 22. The low overnight heading into Wednesday morning is expected to be around 10 degrees. There is a 30 percent chance of snow on Wednesday.