West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) crews across the state are prepared to handle the first statewide winter forecast of the year on Thursday, November 21, 2024, into Saturday, November 23, 2024.
Multiple counties in the eastern portion of the Mountain State are under a winter storm warning, winter storm watch, or winter weather advisory through the evening of Saturday. Counties forecasted under those advisories, watches and warnings include McDowell, Wyoming, Upshur, Barbour, Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, and Pocahontas.
“Our operators are assigned to continue to perform SRIC operations until all roads are addressed — on a 24-hour, seven-day-per-week basis,” said Joe Pack, P.E., WVDOH Chief Engineer of Operations.
SRIC stands for snow removal and ice control, and it’s the process the WVDOH uses to keep roads clear for winter travelers.
Statewide, the WVDOH has a stockpile of more than 231,000 tons of salt, and more than 1,000 snowplows to cover all 55 counties. A typical snowplow holds 12 tons of salt, enough to treat about 100 lane-miles of road. That’s about a 50-mile stretch of two-lane road, or about 25 miles of four-lane.
District 8, which includes the counties of Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker, has 9,410 tons of salt, 21 tandem trucks, 43 single axle trucks and additional equipment ready for SRIC operations this winter. The Elkins area could see between six and 12 inches of snow through 7 p.m. Saturday.
District 7, which includes Barbour, Braxton, Gilmer, Lewis, Upshur, and Webster counties, has 11,000 tons of salts, two dozen tandem trucks and 39 single axle trucks ready for SRIC. That area is forecasted to see several inches of snow.
In Richwood, Nicholas County, up to a foot of snow is forecasted from Thursday into Saturday. Fayette, Greenbrier, Monroe, and Summers, also in District 9, have 20,860 tons of salt available this SRIC season.
“Our crews are ready to roll and meet the demand of this winter storm,” said Jim Moore, P.E., District 9 Engineer. “We conducted dry runs in our area in October.”
District 10, which is McDowell, Mercer, Raleigh, and Wyoming counties, have 105 snowplows ready to attack the roadways.
All roads maintained by the WVDOH and West Virginia Parkways Authority are assigned a priority for snow removal. Priority 1 routes include interstate, expressway, national highway system, and all other United States and West Virginia routes. Some Priority 1 routes also include high-traffic county routes. Priority 2 routes are all other school bus routes that are not considered Priority 1. Priority 3 routes are the remaining routes, not including park and forest routes. Priority 4 routes are park and forest routes.
Once Priority 1 routes are deemed in accessible condition, WVDOH operators move those the secondary routes in Priority 2 and 3. However, as snow returns, WVDOH operators return to the Priority 1 routes.
Lower elevations in West Virginia such as the Kanawha Valley and Ohio River areas may see an inch or two of snow.
For the latest updates and information on travel conditions throughout West Virginia, visit wv511.org.
