The best snowfall rates occurred during and right after the morning rush on Wednesday December 5th along the higher elevations of southeastern West Virginia and extreme western Virginia. Below is a surface analysis and radar shot of the eastern United States during this timeframe. As relatively warmer air moved north, it was lifted atop colder air over the Appalachians, allowing snow to develop north of the storm’s track. A jet stream maximum of 120 kts just to our south, also contributed to upper divergence and vertical motion. The lighter amounts which fell from Blacksburg and Roanoke east, an inch or less, melted by late afternoon as temperatures moved above freezing. Air temperatures were warm enough farther south and east, so that only flurries mixed in with rain showers.