The West Virginia Turnpike, once known as "88 miles of miracle," turned into 88 miles of mayhem during the massive snow storm Dec. 18-19. Hundreds of drivers were stranded, some as long as 24 hours in their cars with no help or relief. The snow may be gone, but there's still a mess to be cleaned up.

Up front, if weather forecasters deserve any heat over this, it's probably that some of us felt the storm would start as afternoon rain in southern West Virginia then change to snow closer to the late evening hours. It actually started in places like Bluefield and Beckley in the afternoon with heavy snow. So for that aspect, let me apologize on behalf of myself and any other forecaster who said the snow would come later in the evening. That's why 12-18 inches of snow quickly turned into more than 20 inches of snow.

That said, certainly every weather person around had spent DAYS predicting a BIG amount of snow and a BIG impact over the Beckley-Bluefield-Lewisburg area. The Turnpike Authority had to know traffic volumes would be high heading into the weekend before Christmas week. Looking back, that was a recipe for problems from the start: lots of cars and lots of snow.

Like many of you, I ask why wasn't the road closed on both ends once it started snowing hard? Gov. Joe Manchin asked this question himself. Granted, it's very hard to keep up with two inches of snow per hour or more, but we have proven it's impossible when any cars are on that road. Drivers do bear some of the burden here, too. Yes, it is important to get to Grandma's house, but conditions were becoming very poor. At some point, a little "risk assessment and aversion" probably should have come into play. In drivers' defense, if the road is "open" then many thought it was fine to plow ahead, in some cases literally.

I admit being a little confused when the governor called everyone from the state on the carpet two days after the snow and the turnpike manager seemed less than apologetic. The general manager told our news crew that there was no way they could have shut the turnpike at Barriers A and C because that would just move the backup there. He projected a 25-mile backup at the terminal toll booths. With all due respect, I'd be fine with a "25-mile backup" where I can physically get to people and have greater control of the lines of communication with motorists as they waited in line off the turnpike. Those people also would have been closer to any emergency resources needed in places like Charleston or Princeton and Bluefield, and certainly they would have been waiting on flatter, wider roads. Overall, you can better manage the emergency there.

Communication, or lack thereof, was indeed a huge issue. I personally received calls from people lucky enough to have cell service before dawn Saturday morning who were sitting in their cars overnight, very frustrated and very scared, looking for information. They told me they couldn't find a radio station with information, and no emergency personnel had been by to give aid, comfort or information. I can tell you that nobody from any emergency command post called me. I realize I'm just one media voice, but in this instance I would think every newsroom and weather person in town should be on speed dial from whomever happens to be the emergency manager in charge. We're here to help spread any official word they need at any time.

I can report that about 10 a.m. Saturday, the head of West Virginia Homeland Security, Jimmy Gianato, did come on our air and answered every question we threw his way. He had important information that helped everyone understand the situation more clearly. Next time I'll try to call him myself about 12 hours earlier.

Let's move to solutions. Today, there is talk about "opening the barrier" and creating turnaround areas on the Turnpike. That is a start. However, there are no guarantees that you wouldn't have another wreck and snarl both directions of traffic in a situation like that.

Back in the summer of 2009, people also sat on the turnpike for nearly a day, waiting for a wreck to be cleared. We were promised then that a plan would be established to avoid similar problems again. To be fair, 20 to 30 inches of snow isn't something we deal with a lot, but the "turnaround" plan apparently isn't in place yet -- not for snow anyhow.

If the road cannot be shut down, what seems best to me would be a strategic and visible placement of every salt truck and plow before the next forecasted major storm. Load supply trucks with food, water and blankets as well and have them ready to deploy behind the plows if drivers get stuck.

If we need a special "winter warriors unit" of heavy machinery operators just for snow, let's do it, because a storm like this will happen again some day. Perhaps the state needs to look at asking and assisting licensed cell service providers to build more cell towers along the turnpike so there is more communication available.

More large digital traffic signs (that actually work) would be a good thing along and well before the turnpike. How about a highway information radio station that actually broadcasts live, real-time emergency data along the road? I think the FCC could be swayed to allow some higher powered AM radio towers under the notion that I-77 is a major mass escape route for easterners in the event of, God forbid, a major disaster or attack.

We have seen, in the case of trying to evacuate Houston before Hurricane Rita, that mass evacuation is easier to talk about than execute, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

As an aside, I am a "maven of the message" as much as I am a meteorologist. The forecast needs to be a well-crafted "message" each night. Some important and lingering messages have been sent since the storm.

Contrast the Parkways Authority's message to that of Appalachian Power's President Dana Waldo, who has been on live TV more than I have lately. Mr. Waldo has been on TV daily with information on outages, proof of work to correct the problems and an apology with nearly every other sentence. You know, "We're really sorry nature did this, and we're working hard to fix it" is quite different than, "We couldn't do anything different anyhow."

In state, the last proactive public relations blitz I saw from the Parkways Authority was when it were showing media places that needed to be repaired to justify an increase in tolls. Meanwhile, Internet sites like Twitter and Facebook are outlets for out-of-state travelers to post a flurry of negative thoughts about the storm, the road and thus, the state. Luckily many regular West Virginians did step up to give aid and comfort to many stranded travelers. Hopefully that message will resonate louder than any negative word out there.

Personally, I forecast some rough sledding ahead for the Turnpike folks. It may be winter, but they certainly have taken plenty of heat for this series of events. Nature surely will give them another chance to thaw any icy customer relations in the coming months. I am rooting for them. We need that "88 Miles of Miracle" to continue to pave the way to prosperity.

Spencer Adkins is chief meteorologist for West Virginia Media television stations. He joined the news staff of WOWK-TV in Huntington-Charleston 1993.