With a winter weather advisory in place for most of the state Monday, last week's balmier temperatures may help lessen the snow accumulation between now and Wednesday.
Faith Borden, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Charleston forecast office, said multiple cold fronts from the west and northwest would likely have a mixed impact across West Virginia, with more snowfall expected in the eastern counties.
A winter weather advisory calling for 4 to 8 inches of snow was issued at about noon Monday for Pocahontas and Randolph counties.
Another weather advisory for the rest of the state predicts 2 to 6 inches of snowfall, "with varying intensity" over the next 36 hours, which went into effect at 7 p.m. Monday. The advisories are expected to be lifted statewide by 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
"The key is, it's going to start more as a rain and snow mix in areas with lower elevations - that's part of the reason we're not going to get as much snow," Borden said.
Following last week's temperatures in the upper 50s that effectively erased most evidence of last month's historic snowstorm, some roads may not be compromised by this week's snowfall.
Borden cited a Cabell County road sensor on Monday afternoon that showed pavement temperatures were around 45 degrees.
"It takes time for asphalt to cool off. Where we might have an inch of snow on the ground in the morning, that might not be on the roadways yet," she said.
But that doesn't mean drivers may not encounter problems in some places. Elevated overpasses, for example, warrant caution in such weather events.
"You want to be concerned on those and use common sense," she said.
Some counties were announcing school closures and delays Monday evening. Schools in Lincoln, Mingo, Pocahontas and Wayne counties were on a two hour delay today. Webster County will have classes after a three hour delay. Kanawha and Greenbrier county schools were closed.
Contact Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.