Governor’s message to WV: Please, stay at home
By Autumn Shelton, RealWV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – On Monday, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said that it is important to stay safe now that Winter Storm Fern has arrived in our area.
“I think everyone knows West Virginia is dealing with a very dangerous cocktail of snow, of sleet and ice. And, then, a lot of cold temperatures that will be lasting a number of days,” Morrisey said. “Whenever you have precipitation and very cold weather, that creates one of the most dangerous conditions of all – which is a lot of ice.”
According to Morrisey, since Saturday, a range of snow has fallen across the state – from a couple of inches up to 15” in the eastern panhandle.
“Most of that system has passed,” Morrisey continued. “But, we are still seeing some flurries here and there. But, where the snowfall totals were modest, that’s where we’ve been worried about freezing. We know that melting during the daylight hours does occur, but when it gets to evening, those sharper, colder temperatures, that creates a real problem. And, we know that there’s widespread black ice on bridges, on overpasses, and we know sometimes the ice is formed on trees, causing branches to fall, and on power lines.”
As the wind chills are falling below zero in many parts of the state, Morrisey said that adds to the already dangerous conditions.
“Because of all that, my message to folks becomes very clear – please, stay at home,” Morrisey said. “Please stay off the road. Only go out if you have to.”
So far, Morrisey said that state road crews have logged 44 thousand equipment hours and more than 68,000 manpower hours, have applied over 41,000 tons of salt and abrasive mix to the roads and 390,000 gallons of a brine and beet juice mixture since Saturday when the storm began.
As the extremely cold weather begins, Morrisey said those who are in need of a warming shelter may call 2-1-1.
“You’ll be provided with information, which will be helpful to you,” Morrisey said. “The same is true if you need water or food or other items.”
According to Morrisey, there have been a number of power outages, but crews have been working very hard to get the power back on.
Information from Appalachian Power Company (ApCo), stated that at the peak of the power outage on Sunday afternoon, about 29,000 homes in West Virginia were without power. Morrisey said that power outages were down to about 19,000.
As of 9 a.m. Monday morning, ApCo has reported the following power outages:
| West Virginia | Outage Count |
| Boone | 354 |
| Cabell | 14 |
| Clay | 235 |
| Fayette | 15 |
| Greenbrier | Less than 5 |
| Jackson | 86 |
| Kanawha | 14,631 |
| Lincoln | 1,726 |
| Logan | 158 |
| Marshall | 0 |
| Mason | Less than 5 |
| McDowell | Less than 5 |
| Mercer | 0 |
| Mingo | 294 |
| Monroe | 0 |
| Nicholas | 5 |
| Ohio | 11 |
| Putnam | 590 |
| Raleigh | Less than 5 |
| Roane | 311 |
| Summers | 0 |
| Wayne | 13 |
| Wyoming | 119 |
