Above, from left, Ivy Perkins, 12, and Michaela Huntington, 8, climb through tunnels as they carve out a snowbank at the corner of Rosemont Avenue and John Street on Thursday.
By John McVey
The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – Volunteer spotters for the National Weather Service reported snow totals ranging from about 13 inches to about 18 inches across the Eastern Panhandle and northern Shenandoah Valley around midday Thursday.
“You can add two or three inches to those totals before the storm is over,” Kevin Witt, a meteorologist with the NWS station in Sterling, Va., said in a telephone interview. “We’re expecting snow, sleet, some freezing rain this afternoon and tapering off overnight.”
At the height of the storm around daybreak Thursday, he said the area was getting about two inches of snow per hour.
Fortunately, the snow was relatively light or not moisture-laden, which has helped to prevent many power outages, Todd Meyers, Potomac Edison spokesman, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
“And in this case, the wind is helping to keep the tree branches clear of snow,” he said. “The wind is gusting up to 20 or 25 mph. That is moving the snow off the trees and relieving stress on branches…”
