High water makes its way onto Shawnee Park in Institute this morning.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Rain, high water and wintery weather prompted scattered school closings and National Weather Service warnings across West Virginia, but few major problems Wednesday.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Coal River at Tornado, including Kanawha, Boone and Lincoln counties, until Thursday at noon. The advisory says that because the river is high, problems with minor flooding of poor drainage areas or low-lying areas "are occurring or are imminent."
The height of the river was 18.8 feet early Wednesday afternoon, with forecasters predicting a maximum height of 22.8 feet by Thursday morning.
Between 20 and 23 feet, Strawberry, Smith Creek, Upper Coal River and Ferrell Road are all at risk for flooding in Kanawha County, according to the warning.
The Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department rescued a stranded man from his vehicle Wednesday afternoon when became stuck on a flooded roadway in Tornado.
The man's truck stalled around 3 p.m. when he attempted to cross a flooded bridge along Lower Falls Drive, Lt. Brian Hudson said.
The fire department used a boat to get the uninjured man out his truck, Hudson said. The road was covered by about two feet of water, and water began entering the cab of the man's pick-up truck while firefighters tried to get him the vehicle, he said.
The Madison Volunteer Fire Department in Boone County has not started to evacuate people because "the flooding isn't that bad yet," said a volunteer firefighter.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Rain, high water and wintery weather prompted scattered school closings and National Weather Service warnings across West Virginia, but few major problems Wednesday.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Coal River at Tornado, including Kanawha, Boone and Lincoln counties, until Thursday at noon. The advisory says that because the river is high, problems with minor flooding of poor drainage areas or low-lying areas "are occurring or are imminent."
The height of the river was 18.8 feet early Wednesday afternoon, with forecasters predicting a maximum height of 22.8 feet by Thursday morning.
Between 20 and 23 feet, Strawberry, Smith Creek, Upper Coal River and Ferrell Road are all at risk for flooding in Kanawha County, according to the warning.
The Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department rescued a stranded man from his vehicle Wednesday afternoon when became stuck on a flooded roadway in Tornado.
The man's truck stalled around 3 p.m. when he attempted to cross a flooded bridge along Lower Falls Drive, Lt. Brian Hudson said.
The fire department used a boat to get the uninjured man out his truck, Hudson said. The road was covered by about two feet of water, and water began entering the cab of the man's pick-up truck while firefighters tried to get him the vehicle, he said.
The Madison Volunteer Fire Department in Boone County has not started to evacuate people because "the flooding isn't that bad yet," said a volunteer firefighter.
"But if the water does keep going up, we will have to set up temporary shelters and evacuate people," he said. "If it goes up only half an inch, then it's probably not enough to evacuate, but if it goes up another two inches, then we'll have to."
The sheriff's departments in Kanawha, Lincoln and Boone have not been called out for assistance yet.
"It's flooding, but we haven't gotten any calls yet," a Boone County dispatcher said.
The advisory encourages drivers to "turn around and don't drown. Do not drive into areas where water is flowing over the roadway. Most deaths occur when motorist try crossing flooded roads."
Also Wednesday, Roane and Mingo counties closed schools and sent home students by midmorning, while high water prompted Raleigh and Kanawha counties to close six schools. Hampshire County schools opened two hours late.
Meanwhile, Clay County sent students from one elementary home early due to a lack of water.
Emergency dispatchers in Mingo and Logan counties the south and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle, where schools remained open and roads clear. The state's major electric utilities, Allegheny Energy and Appalachian Power were reporting about 3,500 customers without power as of midmorning.
Rain and freezing rain were the big worries Wednesday morning. While the National Weather Service forecast called for rain to taper off about midday, snow was expected in parts of the state overnight.
A system moving in from Ohio is expected to drop 1 to 2 inches of snow over the Kanawha Valley overnight and potentially greater accumulations on the mountains, National Weather Service forecaster Nick Webb said.
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