The latest warnings issued by the National Weather Service (as of Thursday morning) show that high-elevation areas in West Virginia -- such as Snowshoe Mountain Resort -- should receive significant snow from the storm and are likely to dodge the ice bullet. An alert for Pocahontas, WV (where Snowshoe is located) states:

"PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ACROSS THE COUNTY BY THE AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. MAINLY SNOW IS EXPECTED...ALTHOUGH SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN MAY MIX IN FROM TIME TO TIME. A TOTAL OF 4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION IS FORECAST...WITH THE GREATEST SNOW ACCUMULATION EXPECTED ON THE HIGHER PEAKS. PRECIPITATION WILL TAPER OFF TO SNOW SHOWERS BY FRIDAY MORNING...WITH AN ADDITIONAL LIGHT ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE ON FRIDAY."

As of Thursday morning, it is already snowing at Snowshoe and places 4,000 feet and up. Remember, most West Virginia forecasts aren't for high elevation areas. Snowshoe is up at 4,800 feet.

There might be freezing rain at lower elevations late on Thursday -- this won't affect the slopes but could affect driving to the slopes. Fortunately, it looks like the storm will mostly blow out of West Virginia by Friday, which could mean incredible conditions for the weekend.