RONCEVERTE -
59 News caught up with one business right along the Greenbrier River in Ronceverte who says anytime it rains he keeps a close eye on the national weather service and knows from history when things are beginning to look bad.
Bob Bennett with Greenbrier County Recycling Center said, "Our magic number is 19 feet in Alderson. If they're predicting 19 feet in Alderson were basically shut down, packing stuff up and moving everything we can."
Bob Bennett with Greenbrier County Recycling has been operating just feet from the Greenbrier River in Ronceverte for about five years now and says when he hears reports of heavy rain, its planning time.
He said, "I have to keep an eye on the river. I use the national weather service the hydraulic prediction service plus other contacts. I have contacts that have been watching the river a lot longer than I have."
When he first checked last night, Bennett said the numbers were around 13 feet, and while the waters look like they can creeping up quickly, that's still in the safe zone for him.
He said, "They've backed off from that number. The latest numbers I've seen are 11.6 in Alderson so even the 13.2 feet we would have been in good shape."
Two times in the past workers at the recycling facility have packed up the entire plant in one day to save it from flooding.
And once, Bennett said there was 6 feet of water in his office.
Wednesday, he said he felt, "Relieved, we're happy today, we're not going to move anything. We've all got smiles on our face now we're not concerned about anything at this point, I wish they would all turn out this way."
59 News will continue to keep you updated about the water levels everywhere but the main thing to worry about in the mountainous counties Thursday is rain turning into snow.
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