Gov. Patrick Morrisey updated the public Monday afternoon during a press conference streamed from Charleston.
President Trump approved an emergency declaration Saturday, Jan. 24, for West Virginia to supplement responses to conditions coming from the winter storm which swept over much of the United State on Jan. 23. The president’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate any hardships caused by the storm. The governor asked the president for this declaration on Jan. 23 and declared a state of emergency for West Virginia that same day.
“I know getting out this morning has not been easy,” Morrisey said. “It’s been a very difficult couple of days.”
The governor said road crews were still working to clear highways and secondary roads. As of Monday, crews had logged around 44,000 equipment hours and 68,000 work hours.
“My message is clear: Please stay home. Please stay off the roads,” Morrisey said. “Please don’t go out unless you have to. When you’re on the roads, it’s more difficult for our highway teams to go out and do their work.”
Snowfall totals across the state have been modest, but there are concerns about freezing temperatures, he said. Temperatures in the teens and single digits lead to black ice, especially on bridges and overpasses, and ice causing tree branches and power lines to fall. Wild chills below zero have been forecasted.
The governor urged residents to keep watching the local media and weather forecasts. People needing warming stations as well as water and food can call 211.
Warming stations offered shelter as bitter cold stayed behind while Winter Storm Fern dissipated. In Oak Hill, a warming station has been open at the Historic Oak Hill School at 140 School Street. In Raleigh County, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 200 Virginia Street and Beckley Community United Methodist Church at 217 South Heber Street, both in Beckley, have been operating warming stations.
In Mercer County, the Bluefield Union Mission and the Salvation Army have been providing shelter against the cold. Shelters have also been at the Princeton Rescue Squad, the Karen Preservati Center in Princeton, the Matoaka Fire Department and the Bluewell United Methodist Church at 228 Warden Avenue in Bluewell.
Frigid temperatures will persist for some time, said forecaster Levi Cornett with the National Weather Service office in Charleston. An arctic front has dipped down into the United States and drawn polar air with it.
“Well, unfortunately it looks like the rest of January and into February as well,” he said.
Some snow could fall in the Beckley and Raleigh County area with moderate to heavy amounts at time which could lower visibility. One to 2 inches are possible.
Some weather services have been monitoring another winter storm far to the south, but forecasts as of Monday were too uncertain to be reliable, Cornett said.
Appalachian Power field workers were assessing storm damage and restoring electricity Monday morning. According to the power company, around 29,000 West Virginia customers and another 15,500 Virginia customers had lost power when the storm was at its peak Sunday. Crews had restored power to around 19,000 by Monday. High winds hindering assessment and bad road conditions were slowing the crews’ efforts.
About 3,000 field workers across 57 counties were working to restore power, power company officials said. Winter Storm Fern blanketed APCo’s three-state footprint all day Sunday with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain. The peak number of outages at 4 p.m. Sunday was 44,500. As of 9 a.m. Monday, about 33,000 customers are without power.
Field personnel today are combating high wind gusts, fallen trees and limbs, deep snow, frigid temperatures and icy surfaces. These hazardous conditions disrupt travel and delay power restoration work. Wind gusts exceeding 30 mph are expected to further delay.
In Raleigh County, Appalachian Power reported one power outage around 10 a.m. Monday impacting fewer than five customers. Service was expected to be back by 1 p.m. Neighboring Fayette County had one outage case impacting nine customers, but service was not expect back until 9 p.m.
Further south in Mercer County, the power company reported two outage cases affecting 14 customers, and electricity was expected back by 2:30 p.m. McDowell County had 2 outage cases affecting six customers, and restoration was expected around 9 p.m. In Tazewell County, Va., there were two outage cases impacting six customers. Restoration was expected around 2:30 p.m. Monday.
© 2026 the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, W.Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
