Do you need a snowblower in Charleston, WV?
The machine for a Charleston driveway
Cordless single-stage
Plenty falls in Charleston, about 4.1 tons a winter on this driveway, but it comes in shallow storms a small cordless machine can take in.
Before you buy, check the battery is rated to clear the whole driveway in one charge in the cold, or get a second battery. Batteries lose range below freezing.
What a Charleston winter brings
- Snow a year
- 32 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 0.7 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 5 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 19
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. About what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 4.1 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Charleston
- Oct0.6
- Nov1.5
- Dec5.0
- Jan10.3
- Feb7.7
- Mar5.9
- Apr0.5
Snow worth clearing runs from November to March, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Towns near Charleston
Charleston is number 3 of 13 West Virginia towns here for snowfall; Weirton gets the most at 44 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Charleston, WV | 4 | 32 in | Cordless single-stage |
| St. Albans, WV | 10 | 11 in | A shovel is enough |
| Huntington, WV | 44 | 10 in | A shovel is enough |
| Beckley, WV | 47 | 38 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Ashland, KY | 55 | 6 in | A shovel is enough |
| Ironton, OH | 58 | 6 in | A shovel is enough |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Charleston Yeager Airport, 3.1 miles from Charleston. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.