West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has declared a state of emergency ahead of the full brunt of a storm.

Tomblin on Monday opened a special communications center at the state Capitol in Charleston.

Monday's declaration came as Tomblin coordinated resources with National Guard Adjutant Gen. James Hoyer and Jimmy Gianato, the state's homeland security director.

Tomblin says officials are looking at a "three-punch storm."

With rain and snow already falling, the threat of flooding is expected to increase in both panhandles. Two or more feet of snow is expected in mountainous counties such as Pocahontas, Randolph and Tucker. And high winds will bring the possibility of power outages.

Tomblin advised residents to be ready for outages and to stay off roads once high winds hit.

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