LATEST UPDATES on March 2013 Storm 

Please contact your county office of emergency services for immediate assistance. County Emergency Services should be your first point of contact:
http://www.dhsem.wv.gov/countycontacts/Pages/default.aspx

The large winter storm continues to track toward West Virginia, with some models now showing over 20 inches of snow with 50+mph wind gusts in some areas. Travel will remain an issue with low visibility and snow covered roads,  and power outages are all but certian with the combination of high winds and heavy wet snow. 

NOTE: Temperatures are expected to reach above 60 degrees this weekend with rain also in the forecast. Flooding could be a concern as early as Thursday, with special concern for the Potomac and Cheat rivers. Please see the County by County breakdown below:

WINTER STORM WARNINGS

Berkeley, Grant, Mineral, Pendleton, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Morgan: Warning: 10-15 inches, up to 20 inches along Interstate 81 corridor.  Winds up to 35mph.  Snow will be heavy and fall at a rate up to 2 inches per hour starting tonight through Wednesday night.

Pocahontas, Randolph, Webster: Warning: 6-12 inches, gusts up to 35mph.

Greenbrier: Warning: 5-10 inches, wind gusts up to 40mph. 

Brooke, Hancock, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Wetzel: Warning: 5-8 inches, no wind advisory at this time.

Preston, Tucker: Warning: 8-14 inches, wind gusts up to 30mph.

WINTER STORM ADVISORIES

Mercer, Summers: Advisory: 2-6 inches, gusts up to 50mph.

Monroe: Advisory:up to 4 inches heavy wet snow, wind gusts up to 45mph.  Heaviest snow from midnight through noon tomorrow.

Pleasants, Ritchie, Tyler, Wood: Advisory: 10-15 inches, winds up to 20mph

Barbour, Braxton, Doddridge, Fayette, Harrison, Lewis, Nicholas, Raleigh, Taylor, Upshur: Advisory: 6-8 inches, winds up to 35mph

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND IMPORTANT CONTACTS:

Information from FEMA available here: http://www.fema.gov/

If you or someone you know may be impacted by the storm, here are a few things to do to get ready:

• Get some extra cash out at the ATM today. If the power goes out, banks/ATMs may be offline for some time.
• Make a plan for how you¹ll keep your cell phone charged if you lose power for several days. Picking up a solar or hand-crank charger for your phone is a good idea.
• Take steps to protect your home/business from high winds ­ cover windows, clean gutters, trim trees.
• Get to the store today for emergency supplies such as water, nonperishable food, batteries, flashlight, etc.
• Make sure you have what you need in case the power goes out and cold weather moves in. Double check that you have a safe, warm place you can go, blankets in your home/car, and winter items like snow shovels and rock salt.
• Employers: make sure your employees are prepared and review your continuity and tele-work plans.
• More information for your emergency kit

West Virginia state goverment services: http://www.ready.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

National Weather Service: http://www.weather.gov/

West Virginia Weather Warnings: http://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wv.php?x=1

National Weather Service Doppler Radar Real Time Weather
Tracking: http://www.weather.gov/Radar#loop

For information about river and creek flooding:
http://water.weather.gov/ahps/

School Closings:
http://wvde.state.wv.us/closings/county/all

For information about power outages:

Northern/Central/Eastern WV:
First Energy: http://outages.firstenergycorp.com/mdwv.html

Southern WV:
Appalachian Power: https://appalachianpower.com/outages/
AEP: https://www.aepohio.com/outages/

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LATEST UPDATE on June Derecho: October 2012

After FEMA’s September decision providing Individual Assistance to four West Virginia counties, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin requested FEMA expand assistance to additional counties. FEMA approved the counties of Cabell, Clay, Greenbrier, Jackson, Lincoln, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Pocahontas, Roane, Tyler, Webster, and Wood. FEMA previously approved federal assistance to the state and individual assistance to Fayette, Kanawha, Nicholas and Raleigh counties because of the June “derecho.” Rockefeller, Manchin and Rahall wrote letters to the President supporting Tomblin’s request for additional counties to receive assistance.

FEMA previously approved disaster assistance for state and local governments to rebuild community infrastructure and individual assistance to Fayette, Kanawha, Nicholas and Raleigh Counties. With Individual Assistance, West Virginians may be eligible for housing assistance to repair heavily damaged or destroyed homes, as well as other expenses related to cleaning and the loss and replacement of personal property.

To view a map of the add-on counties for Individual Assistance, click here:

Individual Assistance Map

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is advising those in need to be in contact with their County Office of Emergency Services.

At this stage of recovery, each County Office of Emergency Services is the best place to receive assistance with storm damage. Each county has its own contact number, which can be found here:

http://www.dhsem.wv.gov/countycontacts/Pages/default.aspx

Constituents who need additional assistance can contact Senator Manchin’s office at 855-275-5737 (To use with 304 or 681 area code). In case of an emergency, call 9-1-1.

“Friday night’s storms caused severe damage and left hundreds of thousands of West Virginians without electricity in this extreme heat. I urge all West Virginians to be very careful, stay hydrated, and check on your neighbors – especially the elderly. I know the state will do all it can to care for those in need, and I will do everything in my power to make sure West Virginia gets any needed federal assistance very quickly.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES: 

From FEMA: 

In response to a request from Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, the President issued a federal emergency declaration for all counties in West Virginia on Saturday, enabling the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts in the state. FEMA has also created a web page with information on the severe storms, which can be found here:http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=16692.

From Governor Tomblin:

Updates on the State of Emergency are available here: http://www.governor.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Local issues can be reported to the governor’s office at 304-558-2000.

Electric Outages

Up-to-date information on power outages is available here: 

First Energy: http://outages.firstenergycorp.com/mdwv.html

Appalachian Power: https://appalachianpower.com/outages/

AEP: https://www.aepohio.com/outages/

Safety tips: https://www.appalachianpower.com/outages/faq/OutageSafetyTips.aspx

A list of cooling stations as of July 2, 3:30 p.m.: 

http://www.governor.wv.gov/Pages/CoolingStations.aspx

Water and Ice locations:

https://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/dam/newsroom/images/Summer%20Storm%202012/newsroomsize/WestVirginiaIceWaterLocations.pdf

West Virginia Department of Transportation

Fuel, gas and rest area services: http://www.transportation.wv.gov/communications/Press-Release/Pages/default.aspx

Fourth of July information:

Alderson Cancels Monday Fourth of July Events: http://wvgazette.com/News/201207020052

From Frontier Communications: 

Constituents with information about generators that have been stolen from several Frontier Communications facilities in the state following Friday’s storms are urged to call 1-800-590-6605. Anonymous tips will be accepted.

Small Business Administration 

For West Virginians with questions about Small Business Administration Assistance, contact Rick Haney at 304-623-5631.