January 24 – BLUEFELD – Freezing Arctic Air is hanging around today, but forecasts for both Southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia offer some relief as temperatures begin to climb above freezing.
Water freezes when temperatures drop to 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Saturday’s forecast high temperature is 37 degrees in Mercer County and about 36 degrees in Raleigh County. To the south in Tazewell County, Va., Saturday’s high could reach about 36 degrees on Saturday and climb to 39 degrees on Monday.
Today is expected to be cooler than Thursday with a high of 25 and scattered snow flurries, but the weekend looks like it will be warmer, said meteorologist Ben Gruver with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, VA.
“It looks like we might finally see temps get above freezing by the weekend,” he said. “As we move into next week, it will be closer to normal for this time of year.”
People were still looking for a warm shelter and helped with heating on Thursday. According to the National Weather Service, today’s temperature in the region was expected to be around 75 degrees with lows in the low 10s.
Executive Director Craig Hammond of the Bluefield Union Mission checked his data Thursday and counted the number of people seeking shelter Wednesday evening.
“We had 12 last night, but many of them returned to their homes or found other accommodations and today we only had three,” Hammond said. “I think it’s slowing down. So yes, it’s not just slowing down for shelter requests. We’re still doing quite a bit with warm coats and blankets, but it’s significantly less than what we’ve had in the last five days.”
The Union mission continued to receive more requests than normal for heating oil, kerosene, coal and wood. Hammond said a surprising number of people were still heating their homes with coal and wood.
“But I would say the number one is kerosene,” he said.
A warming center opened Thursday evening in Mercer County due to low temperatures that were expected. Located at the Salvation Army at 300 Princeton Avenue in Princeton, it was open from 7 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. today, according to Sgt. Melissa White with the Salvation Army.
Mercer County Commission funding that allowed The Salvation Army to provide shelter at a local motel has been exhausted, so the warming station was at the Princeton Avenue Center.
One person came to the warming center Wednesday evening and an alternative shelter was found for him, White said. The Salvation Army needs volunteers for staff warming centers.
People interested in being a warming center can call the Salvation Army at 304-425-2971. Applicants must pass a background check, she said.
In Raleigh County, the Beckley Warming Center opened Thursday at the Beckley Community United Methodist Church at 217 South Heber Street, according to the United Way of Southern West Virginia. It opened at 8pm and would remain open until 7am today.
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com