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This post will be updated every hour with new readings. Please check back for most up-to-date information. (Next update will be at 7 a.m. as river has approached crest stage in both Philippi and Belington)
UPDATE 8:04 a.m.
(no graphs included)
The river in Philippi crested at 21.43 feet, slightly below the projections, at around 6 a.m. today. At 8 a.m. it measured at 21.08 feet, indicating that the river is starting to go down.
Bypass at 119/250 intersection is still closed. City of Philippi also announced closure of transfer station today (it is open every first Saturday of the month).
In Belington, river reached the high of 16.26 at 6:30 a.m. and went down to 16.25 at 7:30 a.m.
There was a report of vehicle and its occupants stuck in water at Talbott Rd and Wabash Ave intersection.
IMPORTANT: IF YOU ENCOUNTER WATER, EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION. TURN AROUND, DON'T DROWN.
UPDATE 4:30 a.m.
IMPORTANT: Creeks and streams are on the rise. Please be cautious while out and about!
River at Philippi has significantly slowed down, rising only 1/10 of a foot in the last hour to 21.42 feet, and is approaching the crest stage of 22 feet, albeit couple of hours ahead of schedule.
Bypass intersection, as well as area around North Philippi bridge are still closed to traffic until further notice. Please exercise caution when out and about and follow the detour instructions.
Belington appears to stay within a foot below crest stage at this point at 16.13, with a rise of only 1/20 of a foot in the last hour.
UPDATE 3:25 a.m.
Good news is that even though river rose another half of foot since last reading, it is starting to level off and is still predicted to crest at 22 feet, just few hours earlier than anticipated.
Bypass is now closed at the 119/250 intersection, and traffic is instructed to use John Street and around Battlers Knob as a detour.
Belington is staying steady at 1/10 of a foot per hour, and is seeing slight uptick, but is faring still below anticipated crest at 17.40 feet.
Bridges in Belington and Junior remain open.
UPDATE 2:30 a.m.
In Philippi, the river is rapidly approaching projected crest level at 22 feet, by continuing to rise at half a foot an hour. Even though the rise is slowing down, it is still showing no signs of stopping at 22 feet. We will continue to monitor and update through the night.
At 22 feet, North High and Woods Streets are flooded. Stevens and North Walnut Streets are flooded. Also, a store is flooded near Stevens and North Walnuts Streets.
As opposed to Philippi, Belington levels are appearing close to crest, and are staying about the foot below projected levels, increasing less than 1/10 of a foot in an hour.
UPDATE 1:20 a.m.
River in Philippi is continue to rise at about half a foot an hour, and has reached 20.80 feet by 1 a.m. Projected crest is at 22 feet at 7 a.m. but the trajectory is still showing it heading upward with just slight curve compared to Belington where it is evening out. This is already moving to be in top 20 highest crests ever recorded in Philippi, with the most recent ones in 2015 at 22.65 and in 2020 at 23.70.
The river in Belington has slowed down significantly, staying below projected level for 1 a.m. at 15.90 feet. Crest was expected at 17.40, but it appears the river may stay below that level before 7 a.m.
Belington Bridge and Junior Bridge remain open at this time.
UPDATE 00:32 a.m.
River rose another 3/4 of a foot to 20.36 feet in Philippi area right after midnight on February 1. Our staff was also on site, and saw it go up to 20.60 right around 12:20 a.m. This is a significant slowdown, and it appears that the curve is moving toward the crest point, which is still at 22 feet at 7 a.m.
Bypass in Philippi is being monitored by DOH - it is not closed yet, but the water level is rising. Exercise extreme caution in the area.
Belington saw even bigger slowdown, where the river rose less than 1/4 of a foot to 15.78. Crest is still projected at 17.40 at 7 a.m. The curve is moving move faster toward the crest stage than in Philippi at this time.
UPDATE 11:20 p.m.
River appears to be slowing down and rose less than a foot in the last hour, reaching 19.69 feet in Philippi. Projection is still for 20.6 at 1 a.m. and crest is projected at 22 feet at 7 a.m.
In Belington, river has gone up less than quarter of a foot in the last hour, coming to 15.65, and showing significant slow down. It is still expected to crest at 17.40 at 7 a.m.
IMPORTANT: AS OF 11:15 P.M. BELINGTON BRIDGE IS STILL OPEN AND ACTIVELY MONITORED BY DOH. THE STATUS CHANGED FROM "CLOSED" TO "MONITORED." EXERCISE CAUTION.
UPDATE 10:25 p.m.
River in Philippi is up to 18.83 feet, with another 1.25 feet rise since the last reading. It continues to show signs of slowing down. Estimate for 1 a.m. is 20.60 feet.
River at Belington has seen another half of foot increase since the last reading, and is up to 15.41. It is estimated to reach 16 by 1 a.m., and 17.40 by 7 a.m.
IMPORTANT: BRIDGE IN BELINGTON IS NOW CLOSED TO ALL VEHICULAR AND FOOT TRAFFIC. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS.
UPDATE 9:20 p.m.
Projected river crest level has now been increased to 22 feet from original 20.6 feet in Philippi.
At 9 p.m., it read at 17.74 - more than a foot increase since 8 p.m., and superseding original projection of 17 feet at 1 a.m. It is still on upward trajectory, with slightest show of slowing down the rate of increase.
Projection for Belington was raised to 17.40 feet from the original 17 feet.
At 8:30 p.m., Belington reading showed 14.96, an increase of half a foot from 7:30 p.m. It continues to increase, with signs of slowing down.
Willow Street is under the water at the bridge in Belington. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS IT.
Belington Bridge will be closing at 10 p.m. to vehicular AND foot traffic.
UPDATE: 8:30 p.m.
As of 8 p.m., Tygart River in Philippi is at 16.47. It was projected at 17 feet at 1 a.m., so it is running several feet higher than projections and rising at approximately 1.5-2 feet an hour since 5 p.m. Projected crest is at 20.6 feet at around 7 a.m.
City of Philippi has announced closing of the road at Sycamore Street and Beech Ave (at the dip) due to high water.
As of 8 p.m., Tygart River in Belington is at 14.34 feet, with projected 16 feet at 1 a.m. and 17 feet at 7 a.m. Just as Philippi, it is running ahead of its projections.
City of Belington has announced for drivers to exercise caution as water is over the road at Wabash Ave and Talbott Rd.
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