Winter weather in WV? (Charleston, Huntington: construction, living in, cost of)
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I am thinking of retiring to WV. Is there any part of the state that has warmer milder winters than the rest of the state? Also how cold does it usually get?
It's a big state with quite a varied climate; when considering WV be more concerned with elevation. Here's part of a post I made just the other day about the eastern panhandle: We do have 4 true seasons. Check out these averages at weather.com; Average Weather for Shenandoah Junction, WV - Temperature and Precipitation=
(If the link doesn't work go to weather.com and use 25442 as the location. Then go to ten day and scroll down to choose averages.) Check out the consistancy in the average rainfall, this is far from an eastern slope mini desert climate as RVAtoCNC claims. As most locations, our climate varies from the averages; this winter we had snowzilla to deal with here and now it's very hot. But we are really at the top of the Shenandoah Valley and enjoy some very fertile land with a good climate. Our little garden plot does quite well, and we don't have any cacti.
But topographically & climatologically, the eastern panhandle isn'r really like the rest of WV. I'm sure some folks from other areas can give you an idea of the variations within the more mountainous regions.
After narrowing down the areas based on climate, you will want to consider cost of living & your desire for seclusion, both of which also vary greatly within the state.
I am thinking of retiring to WV. Is there any part of the state that has warmer milder winters than the rest of the state? Also how cold does it usually get?
The SW part of the state (Charleston) is zone 6/7 with winter lows only rarely dipping below zero (record is maybe minus 17 or so) Snow is frequent but often does not stick or melts rather quickly.
And contrary to the previous poster, there are cactus in parts of the eastern slope of the Allegheny mountains in/near the eastern panhandle of WV - Here is a link to cactus in Mineral County WV which is in the western part of the eastern panhandle, but maybe not in far-eastern Jefferson Co. - I am not sure.
No bad over here in Hardy County either. Beautiful mountains, winters are average. Some snow but not lots, although I think we all got slammed this past winter, blah!!! I think we average a bad winter about every 6 years.
I guess I have a different perspective since I live in the Mojave Desert where we had less than two inches of rain in 2009, winters are mild, it snows maybe once every five years in the Valley, but if we want snow we drive 40 minutes up on one of our surrounding mountains. And after snow skiing we can drive out to the lake for water skiing in the same day.
In West Virginia when I was was growing up I remember four seasons ...almost winter, winter, more winter, and road construction. My favorite was almost winter when the leaves changed colors.
If it's warm temps you are seeking I'd say either the Eastern Panhandle, which has mild DC type winters due to Noreaster air currents or the southwestern part of the State near Huntington will give you the warmest climates.
Living in Western Greenbrier County above 2700 and 3100 ft. The winters on average here is between 8 and 15 inches of snow while on the east side you hardly have a dusting. Butt can be pretty rough. We have our share of blizzard like conditions, and extremely cold temperatures. Back in 2009 we got up to 34 inches within 24 hours. and our share of blizzards especially if we have a hurricane in the late fall. Eastern side of the county however is a whole different world compared to here. and it can be hotter here then in the eastern. The scenery is breathtaking. Especially right now in the fall.
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