01/24/2026
Stay safe & warm everyone ❄️
The primary window for thundersnow activity will be from approximately 8 PM Saturday evening through 10 AM Sunday morning. The peak intensity, with the highest likelihood of experiencing thundersnow, is expected between 11 PM Saturday and 5 AM Sunday. Any thundersnow events will be intermittent and localized, likely occurring in short, intense bursts lasting 30 to 60 minutes within the broader snowstorm. The potential for thundersnow varies across the state, peaking in the central mountain corridors. In the Metro Valley, including Charleston, Huntington, South Charleston, Dunbar, Nitro, and Hurricane, the probability is high, around 50%, as this area will be near the dynamic transition zone between snow and mixed precipitation. The northern regions, including Wheeling, Weirton, Parkersburg, Vienna, Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, and Bridgeport, have a 45% probability, with intense snowfall rates being the primary driver. In the southern coalfields and mountains, cities like Beckley, Bluefield, Oak Hill, Princeton, Summersville, and Lewisburg have a 40% chance, highest on Saturday night before a quicker changeover to sleet and freezing rain may stabilize the column. The Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands, including Martinsburg, Keyser, Romney, Moorefield, Franklin, and Petersburg, have a 35% chance; while snowfall will be tremendous, the core of the atmospheric instability may remain just to the west.