The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

November 13, 2008

NWS forecasts weekend cool-down

Region could see mild winter

Amelia A. Pridemore

Southern West Virginia residents probably thought it was time to trim their trees before it was time for trick-or-treat.

Although high temperatures are forecast to fall by 30 degrees just over this weekend, meteorologists say the upcoming winter could be mild — not wild.

A strong cold front is expected to bring cold, Canadian air to Raleigh County on Saturday, said Ken Batty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston. That will cause high temperatures to significantly drop — from today’s lower 60s to Sunday’s mid-30s. Residents could also wake up to find a “coating” of snow Sunday morning, but if that’s the case, it will not be a significant accumulation.

Temperatures are expected to remain cold through next week, Batty noted. High temperatures are expected to be in the lower 40s to upper 30s.

“Saturday, that cold air is going to rush in and cause a big change,” he said.

“We want to tell people it’s going to be a cold week. A lot of high temperatures will stay in the 30s. It will be quite chilling considering temperatures were in the 70s not very long ago down there.”

Southern West Virginians may have awakened up to a white Halloween, but Batty said that does not necessarily mean the area will endure a harsh winter. In fact, it could be an outright cakewalk — compared to others, anyway.

Batty said the NWS’ Climate Prediction Center data indicate the region could see above average temperatures through December, January and February. Long-term forecasters have not been able to predict an average amount of precipitation for the time period.

“Lately, we’ve been getting off easy,” he said. “The last five winters have been relatively mild. The last major, crippling snowfall was the one in 1998 when the (Harper Road) Kroger roof collapsed.”

— E-mail:

apridemore@register-herald.com

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