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PARKERSBURG - The Mid-Ohio Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross remained active Sunday in outlying counties around the Mid-Ohio Valley as communities hit hard by Friday night's snowstorm continued working to dig out and restore power.

A number of area counties closed schools for today, according to the West Virginia Department of Education. Those include Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Ritchie, Roane and Wirt counties.

Sharon Kesselring, director of financial development for the Red Cross in Parkersburg, said emergency shelters set up Saturday in Spencer - at the Senior Services Center - and Grantsville - at the First Baptist Church - remained open on Sunday.

A standby shelter in Ripley was moved from Ripley Volunteer Fire Station to the Ripley Baptist Temple at 320 Charleston Drive in Ripley and opened into active status, she said Sunday afternoon.

The shelters were being staffed by volunteers sent out Saturday from the Parkersburg chapter. The local chapter was also providing support to a shelter at the South Jackson County VFD at Kenna, W.Va.

Kesselring said anyone wishing to volunteer or make contributions may call the local chapter at 304-485-7311. People can also call 800-733-2767 to make disaster relief fund contributions.

"There are still major power outages in outlying areas, in some cases for 48 hours," Kesselring said Sunday.

After discussions with officials, Kesselring said the recovery efforts were progressing Sunday afternoon to the point where the Red Cross planned to close its shelters at 4 p.m. today, pending further need.

In the outlying areas as much as 14 inches of snow fell overnight Friday and Saturday morning, officials said.

Appalachian Power said it had cut the number of West Virginia customers without power to just under 125,000 by Sunday morning, from some 135,500 the previous evening. Allegheny Power, West Virginia's other major utility, says it had more than 27,000 customers without power as of Sunday morning.

Power crews worked throughout the weekend to repair electricity outages throughout the region. More than 30,000 customers in West Virginia were without power Saturday afternoon, according to the Allegheny Power Web site at www.alleghenypower.com. By Sunday evening, the number of West Virginia customers without power was still about 20,000 according to the Web site, but was continuing to drop.

West Virginia remained under the state of emergency declared Saturday by Gov. Joe Manchin. He called out the National Guard to help the state dig out from a winter storm and about 200 Guardsmen were activated sent to help clear U.S. 19, and interstates 64 and 77 in southern West Virginia.

While local officials were kept busy responding to accidents Saturday morning and evening, local dispatchers said few problems were reported Sunday.

In Washington and Athens counties, a Level One Snow Advisory was issued Saturday by authorities and remained in effect Sunday. The advisory means roadways may be treacherous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads were also icy and drivers were urged to drive very cautiously.

The forecast from the National Weather Service in Charleston calls for rain showers and snow before 3 p.m. today, followed by a slight chance of rain showers or rain and snow showers in the afternoon with high temperatures in the mid-30s. The chance of precipitation is 80 percent with new snow accumulation of less than one inch possible with a chance of freezing drizzle before 7 p.m. tonight.

Tuesday's forecast calls for a slight chance of snow showers, mixing with rain and then gradually ending and a high near 35 degrees. Wednesday has a light chance of snow showers, while Thursday has a chance of rain, becoming more likely Thursday night.

The forecast for Friday, Christmas Day, said rain is likely, with a chance of precipitation around 70 percent.