Snowfall (Charleston, Huntington, Beckley: home, college, calculated)

[newlife5]

What is the average snowfall for Charleston, Bluefield areas ?
Thanks

[FireballFL]

Originally Posted by newlife5

What is the average snowfall for Charleston, Bluefield areas ?
Thanks

I do not know what the average is, as I lived in Martinsburg, a good 4 hours north, but I do know that Charleston and Bluefield are in the mountains and the snow hits really early for them and it is a very heavy snowfall.

[snorpus]

Charleston is hardly in the mountains. According to NOAA, the average annual snowfall is only 34 inches.

NOAA doesn't list Bluefield, but I'd guess it's probably around 50 inches.

The heaviest snowfall region in West Virginia is along the spine of the Allegheny Mountains, from the Davis/Blackwater Falls area (Tucker County) south thru Randolph and Pocahontas Counties. Some of the higher elevations in those counties can get upwards of 100" (on average) in a year.

Snorpus

[newlife5]

Thanks, Is there any area that gets less than 34 " ?

[snorpus]

NOAA has Huntington at 26", average. I suspect some parts of the Eastern Panhandle might have even less... Martinsburg, Sheperdstown, Harpers Ferry, Charles Town, etc.

Snorpus

[newlife5]

Thanks again

[GottaHerdOn]

Ok I just want to say I'm attending college in Huntington... and it did not snow 34 inches last year. I think maybe, 5 or 6. It snowed like twice. Very light both times. Hate snow, you need to go with Huntington. Very nice climate.

[FireballFL]

Originally Posted by GottaHerdOn

Ok I just want to say I'm attending college in Huntington... and it did not snow 34 inches last year. I think maybe, 5 or 6. It snowed like twice. Very light both times. Hate snow, you need to go with Huntington. Very nice climate.

I think the individual was asking for a composite average. The average snowfall in Charleston is 34 inches, according to a fellow member. Does it mean that one year, it will only snow a total of 12 inches and then the next year it could snow over 130 inches? Sure can. That is how the average snowfall is calculated. Some years you will have extreme light snowfalls and then the next, you will have more heavier ones. I think last year had to do with the La Nina weather pattern, which gave Florida no hurricanes in the summer and gave an above average, mild winter to many people in the north.

When I visited my family at Christmastime last year, they were commenting on how warm it was. In Martinsburg, it was in the mid to upper 50s. To me, I was still wearing a winter coat and sweaters because I was freezing, but to them it was a warming trend and around the end of December, the average temperature should have been a good 15 degrees cooler.

[JFinDC]

34 inches average annual is right for Charleston. Bluefield is 50-55 inches. Bluefield is at about the same altitude as Beckley, which is somewhat further north and averages 60 inches of snow (NWS).

Terra Alta in far northern WV averages more than 100 inches, but some of the valleys in southwestern WV average only about 18 inches, which is lower than the eastern panhandle.

As other posters have noted, these are averages. Terra Alta has had as much of 200 in. of snow in one year, Elkins upwards of 130 inches and during at least one winter Charleston topped the 100 inch mark. During other winters (such as 2006-07), snowfall can be well below average, especially at lower elevations.

In Washington, D.C. where I live, we had 9.5 inches at DCA and about 14 in. at IAD in 2006-07, both well below average.

[David Kennedy]

West Virginia's winter weather patterns can be complex.
A moderation has taken place in its weather in the past 40 years and actual winter sets in about January 10th and last until the February 21st. Most of the state ranges in elevation from about 800' above sea level to 3500 '. The lower elevations can see significant show fall due to mountain proximity.
The North Central area of West Virginia experiences 'Lake Effect Snow' from the Great Lakes. Cold Artic Air will blast southward several times during the winter and bring (on the average) 5 to 6 snowfalls of several inches..if the conditions are just right, 24" to 50" have been experienced in the lower elevations but this case is rare and happens about every 15 years. Most of these critical weather events happen during the early winter or early spring when warmer southern air sweeps into a region and meets with an artic air mass. The big snow of 1950 happened at Thanksgiving and the lower elevations received over 50". Another freak storm during 1993 resulted in snow waist deep and that happened in March.
The southern part of the state is effected by the Western Carolinia part of the Appalachan Chain and when southern air masses invade from the Gulf Coast either rain falls or snow....that depends on temperature and elevation.

The eastern panhandle is a semi-arid desert climate and snowfall there is not significant unless Noreasters are sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean. Usually the warm temperatures from the Ocean are warmer and rain is experienced. But if conditions are just right and Canadian cold air is mixed in significant snow fall can occur.
West Virginia is the victim of three weather cycles and that varies due to the region of the state where a person resides.
1. The Lake Effect Snow from the Great Lakes.
2. The weather activity from the eastern seaboard air blowing westward.
3. The northern air flow from the Gulf of Mexico.

Because the winters are mild and not of a significant time duration...(40 years ago winter began at Thanksgiving and the last snowfall occured at Easter), they are not given much thought. We also have better road maintenance, the benefit of 4-wheel drive and the option to stay home if the weather seems to bad.
That would be my recommedation...stay home and chill out.
Log on the fire...pot of soup on the stove and a good book to read...I would certainly unplug the Television and just enjoy the quiet...that's one of the wonderful things about snow...usually its very quiet...