MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After a stormy Wednesday morning and flash flood warning in the afternoon, MetroNews AccuWeather Meteorologist Bob Larson tells WAJR News another round of possibly heavy rain is expected this evening.
Larson said the sagging cold front hasn’t pushed through the area yet, and as a result, the Morgantown area could have another significant rain event.
“Some of these will again include downpours, but we believe rainfall totals will not reach what we saw this morning,” Larson said. “Most areas will pick up 1/2 inch to 1 inch of rain.”
Rains started Wednesday after 9 a.m. and continued through at least 12:30, bringing up to three inches of rain in some isolated areas. Wednesday rains caused high water on Holland Avenue in Westover, Fairmont Road going under I-79 in Westover, Dents Run, and the Morgantown High School campus. School officials cancelled the Mohigan Mania event due to flooding on campus.
“During that less than three-hour time span we picked up 2.1 inches of rain,” Larson said. “With that occurring in less than three hours, it did cause flooding issues that we did witness.”
Because the cold front is a slow mover, Larson said Thursday will be another day of showers with the possibility of a thunderstorm mixed in. But Larson does not expect the same intensity that brought the high rainfall totals in a short period of time Wednesday.
“There will still be some widely separated showers overnight and Thursday morning,” Larson said. “The rainfall totals during that time period look to be 1/2 inch or less.”
The cold front is expected to clear the Morgantown area late Thursday, paving the way for a nice end to the week. Larson said currently there is a 20 percent chance of rain Friday, calm winds, and a high temperature of 85 degrees.
“Although it is a cold front by definition, there’s not going to be a great deal of cooling behind it,” Larson said. “Very limited in cooling, but humidity levels will go down, and we should notice that for the rest of tomorrow.”