MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Area fire departments are watching the forecast after reports of at least two brush fires. At least seven departments have responded to brush fires in the last two days in Harrison and Monongalia Counties.
MetroNews Accuweather meteorologist Bill Deger said this time of year, the countryside can quickly become a tinderbox.
“It only takes a couple of days of dry weather with low humidity and a little bit of a breeze to really elevate that fire risk, and that’s what we’ve been dealing with here,” Deger said.
High pressure is in control of the warm, dry weather pattern currently. An approaching cold front will spark showers across the region through the end of the week.
“Maybe as early as tonight, Wednesday night, there’s a chance for showers, and it really gets going Thursday into Friday morning, and that’s good news; we need the rain,” Deger said.
Deger said the forecast shows steady rain through the end of the week that is expected to bring brushfire relief across the region.
“Probably about maybe a quarter-inch, maybe some locally higher amounts, and falling and running off, but spread out over 18 hours or so,” Deger said.
Temperatures have been higher than normal while precipitation has been lower, but Deger said winter is not done with us yet.
“We’re coming up here on the last few days of February, and it could certainly snow quite a bit in March; even into April, we could still get quite a bit of snow,” Deger said.