Icy Threat Wanes by Dawn

It’s never a good combination, but late this Thursday evening it is raining and 29 degrees in downtown Huntington. The resulting freezing conditions are making travel slick in spots.

A series of accidents on I-64 in Cabell and Wayne Counties, one involving a tractor trailer, was a testimony to the adage; the higher up you go the more the ice risk. So there will be more ice in Stamford Park and the Museum of Art than there will be in downtown Huntington at Pullman Square or in Guyandotte. Same can be said for your neighborhood. Up high, better risk of ice, down low in the valley perhaps just icy windshields.

All evening long, icy conditions have slowed travel in Interior Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. I spoke with several police barrack folks tonight and from Lewis and Scioto to Jackson and Meigs the story is the same, rain is freezing on many surfaces after the evening snowfall.

This is part of the Ice Storm that Marina hawked on our noon show. In fact UK cancelled afternoon and evening classes due to the ice.

In Charleston, the earlier mix has been just misty late this Thursday evening and by 11 o’clock the air temperature had risen above freezing in the city limits. This bodes well for the morning rush as the temperature will rise more overnight. But a word of caution, the high ground near Chelyan and Montgomery will be 2-3 degrees colder than the city, so some elevated ice can still occur predawn in the Eastern end of Kanawha County.

OK, by sunrise, air temperatures will be safely above freezing in most the region, at least that’s my forecast, so the ice will either have melted or be turning slushy. Still a word of caution, slush is a form of ice, melting ice, and can be slick to drive upon or walk on.

For our viewers in the Southern Ohio Ice Belt, I expect your conditions will be improving a bit later after sunrise as the arrival of the warmer air (well, less cold air as it will still be damp and chilly at dawn) is delayed thanks to the cold snow and ice pack.

Marina will update us first thing in the morning.