Published: November 20, 2008 10:26 pm      

Snow, snow go away! Forecast: 2 to 5 inches by midday

Earlier this week, it looked like it was time to watch an endless marathon of “A Christmas Story” rather than the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Now that a second — possibly third — snowstorm is forecast to strike before Thanksgiving, southern West Virginians may feel like they live at the North Pole.

Another “chunk” of cold air moved into southern West Virginia late Thursday, bringing moisture from the Great Lakes, according to Mark Pellerito, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Charleston. That combination was expected to dump about 4 inches of snow in Beckley by midday today. Locations at higher elevations, like eastern Fayette County, were expected to receive 6 inches or more.

“Beckley is lined up well with a shot of moisture from Lake Michigan,” he said. “We could see a pretty good amount.”

As of Thursday evening, the weather service had issued winter weather advisories for Fayette, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Raleigh and Summers counties.

The snow should last through midday today, then change into flurries by afternoon, Pellerito said. Temperatures will only reach the upper 20s. During the weekend, temperatures should slightly warm up and the weather should be dry. Sunshine is even possible.

However, residents weary of both pre-Halloween and pre-Thanksgiving snowstorms are not going to get a break. Pellerito said no sooner than some of the latest snow will melt, more will be on the way.

“Unfortunately, this pattern does not break,” he said. “We have another northwest flow coming in Monday that could yield pretty significant snow. It could be a good batch with this decent chunk of cold air.”

However, Monday’s projected storm will probably not be as significant as today’s, Pellerito said, because the air will not be as cold.

Pellerito noted the present Thanksgiving forecast calls for temperatures in the 40s, but forecasters can’t rule out precipitation just yet.

“The pattern is just too busy,” he said.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com