Trending
PARKERSBURG - Heavy rains hit the area Saturday and another air quality alert was issued on Sunday.
A flash flood warning was issued for the area on Saturday as there were periods of heavy rain throughout the day. The warning area included parts of Washington, Pleasants, Ritchie, Wirt and Wood counties.
Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service in Charleston reported Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing rainfall totals of 2-4 inches across the warning area.
The National Weather Service in Charleston reported the Wood County Airport received .53 inches, said meteorologist John Peck.
"However, there was quite a bit of heavy rain that fell just to the northeast of the city upwards of 2-3 inches," he said.
Peck said it is expected to be nice today, sunny with a high of 84.
"The main threat will be on Tuesday," he said. "There may be a couple of different lines that will move through."
Tuesday comes with the possibility of damaging wind gusts and other hazards including hail, tornadoes and flash flooding, Peck said.
"It depends on the exact timing when it actually swings through with how bad it may be," he said.
The Weather Service is forecasting a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The high is expected to be 84 with winds out of the southwest. The chance of precipitation will be 90 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch are possible.
Showers and thunderstorms are possible into the evening with a low of 67 and southwest winds of 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. There will be a 80% chance of precipitation. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch are possible.
A 20% chance of showers is forecast on Wednesday, the weather service reported.
Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard and Wood County 911 Director Dale McEwuen said there were no serious problems resulting from Saturday's rain. Washington County Sheriff Mark Warden also said they had no reports of anything happening as a result of the rain.
Another air quality alert was issued Sunday by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for the immediate area.
A Code Orange Air Quality Alert was issued for portions of northern West Virginia due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires, including Wood, Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Taylor and Barbour counties, according to a post on the Wood County WV 911 Facebook page.
"A Code Orange Air Quality Alert means air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups," the alert said. "Sensitive groups include children, the elderly, people suffering from asthma, heart disease or other lung diseases."
The effects of air pollution can be minimized by avoiding strenuous activity or exercise outdoors, the alert said. The alert was in place until midnight Sunday.
Residents are advised to check the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s www.AirNow.gov website for current air monitor readings. As of 4 p.m. Sunday, the website said the area was still in the Code Orange range with no forecast available for Monday.