Season’s first freeze possible as cold front moves into West Virginia

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) – Freeze and frost alerts have been issued in West Virginia as temperatures are expected to drop starting Wednesday.

A Frost Advisory for Thursday morning has been issued for most of West Virginia east of Interstate 79, including Monongalia, Preston, Tucker, Barbour, Upshur, Randolph and Webster counties in the north central region. The National Weather Service predicts that temperatures could get as low as freezing between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Oct. 9.

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Late Thursday night until Friday morning, many of those areas will be under a Freeze Watch, with temperatures expected to get below freezing and possibly down into the mid-20s in areas like Elkins, Snowshoe and Marlinton. Impacted counties include Preston, Tucker, Randolph and Pocahontas, as well as most of the Eastern Panhandle.

The Freeze Watch will expire at 10 a.m. on Friday. Weather officials warn that the possible freeze could kill outdoor plants.

Although some places like Canaan Valley have already seen freezing temperatures this year, this will be the first widespread frost and freeze of the season.

However, the snap of cool temperatures will far from equal the earliest major winter weather event in West Virginia’s history from Oct. 10, 1979, when up to a foot of snow fell in the higher elevations of West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.