Feb 5, 2010 11:33 pm US/Eastern
Blizzard Warning Issued For Parts Of Maryland
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) ―
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Heavy snow is falling across the state in what is predicted to be a history making storm for Maryland.
Kelly McPherson reports Gov. Martin O'Malley has issued a declaration of emergency as a blizzard warning is issued for the state.
"As the storm bears down on Maryland, we are prepared to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws at us. We've had some experience already this year," said O'Malley.
The governor says National Guard units are prepared to help local emergency managers around the state and have already started deploying.
The governor is urging residents to avoid driving except for the most urgent reasons.
"I can't drive in this 'cause it's pretty bad, so being stuck at work is definitely not the best place I would want to be," said Ryan Urbanski, stuck at work.
The National Guard has more than 100 Humvees, five-ton trucks and military ambulances positioned around the state. The Guard says some 200 soldiers and airmen are on duty.
Baltimore City will have one humvee at each police station to ensure fire, police and EMTs can get around.
"In these times when we're talking about a blizzard, you have to do something extra. And the National Guard is helping us do that," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
The National Weather Service has issued a warning stretching from Baltimore to northern Virginia and parts of West Virginia. The forecast calls for heavy snow with near-blizzard conditions. The warning is in effect to 10 p.m. Saturday. Parts of Maryland will also be under a blizzard warning Friday night.
Click here to see all advisories for the state of Maryland.
Total accumulations of 16 inches to 24 inches are expected. The weather service warns that the combination of heavy snow and high winds means travel Friday night will be "very hazardous or nearly impossible."
Neil Pedersen, administrator of the Maryland State Highway Administration, says snow could fall at 2 inches an hour Friday evening and overnight.
He says that will create potential for white out conditions, and driving will be very treacherous.
The I-95 corridor is expected to be most impacted by the storm.
The governor says it would take about 28 inches of snow for Maryland to qualify for federal disaster assistance. He expects dangerous conditions.
"Branches and limbs will break; they will take power lines down. And the fact of the matter is, we're going to be dealing with a lot of power outages as we go into the night here. So coordinating with BGE is going to be an even bigger challenge," said Governor Martin O'Malley.
Meanwhile, officials are scrambling to bring in more salt. Local governments are scrambling to find funding to pay for it all.
"It ain't never been this bad," said Calvin Stewart. "Everybody's scared they're going to run out of salt."
Meetings were held across the state where local agencies briefed top leaders on what to expect.
"We want to encourage all citizens that if you don't have to go out in it, do not go out in this. This is a great time to stay at home, get some quality time with your spouse and your kids. Curl up with a book and stay off the roads, so our crews out there can do the job that we need them to do," said O'Malley.
All the work takes cash, and every local government is either in the red or scraping the bottom of the snow cleaning barrel -- even before this round.
Baltimore City only has $400,000 out of $3.5 million left. Carroll and Harford Counties are also down to the last bit. They're in better shape than Baltimore County, which is already $2 million over. Howard is dealing with a $1.3 million gap.
As for the state budget, essentially it's 100 percent over. O'Malley said the state budgeted about $60 million to keep roads clear. The state already has spent about $50 million of that.
O'Malley says the big December snowfall cost the state about $27 million, and he's expecting this one to cost at least that much. That means there will have to be some more budget balancing in a tough financial year.
Maryland State Police and State Highway Administration officials implemented snow emergency plans in the metropolitan counties to be better prepared for snow removal operations.
The snow emergency plan went into effect Friday in the following counties: Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Frederick, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore. Parking is prohibited on any snow emergency route. Snow emergency plans are expected to be enacted in all Maryland counties as the storm progresses.
Maryland State Police will begin having abandoned vehicles parked along snow emergency routes towed to storage lots. This will enable State Highway Administration road crews to more effectively remove snow from the highways during the storm.
If motorists abandon their vehicles along snow emergency routes during the snowstorm, they will be towed away by police. Motorists whose vehicles were towed from Maryland interstates or state highways should contact the State Police barracks nearest the location they left their vehicle to determine where their vehicle was taken.
Weijia Jiang reports Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake prepared for the major snowstorm on her first full day on the job.
Rawlings-Blake was sworn in Thursday afternoon. On Friday morning, she was briefed on emergency preparations at the city's transportation management center.
Rawlings-Blake has not made wholesale changes at City Hall, meaning the team that cleared roads during December's record-breaking storm is mostly still in place. She says that decision will be validated if the city does a good job responding to the storm.
She says "snow isn't new to Baltimore" and that city government functions at a high level during emergencies.
"When we have these tests, when we have these challenges, there are two ways to look at it. We have no control over the weather, we have no control over what Mother Nature is going to do, but what we do have control over is how we respond to it," said Rawlings-Blake. "I know we have a very integrated cooperative system."
Transportation Director Al Foxx says this storm could be worse than the one in December because of high winds.
"We're expecting to get gusts of up to 40 miles per hour, which makes it near blizzard conditions," said Foxx.
City crews are using 15,000 tons of salt to battle the snow, despite the drained snow budget.
"We have to protect our priorities and making sure we provide public safety and essential services particularly in a snowstorm is important. That's the thing I'll find money for," Rawlings-Blake said.
A slim budget is an obstacle all around, but still Anne Arundel County has 8,000 tons of salt on hand with nearly 200 vehicles to clear the roads. Preparations are in place to open an emergency shelter at Annapolis High School.
In Harford County, more than 100 trucks are out to work on more than 1,000 miles of roads. Private contractors are also on hand.
Carroll County crews are using at least 2,200 tons of salt for the storm. During Phase 2 of the plan, plowing will begin. Workers there only break to eat until the roads are back to normal. It's a similar situation in Howard County where 13,000 tons of salt was hauled in. The challenge there is keeping up with the rate of snowfall.
Roads have been pre-treated, but getting anywhere will be treacherous in the snow. Officials warn all lanes won't be cleared at all times because of the intensity of the storm.
All counties are focusing on clearing primary roads first. Then, residential and side streets will be tackled. Crews urge people to move cars off the roads while they can because vehicles are a major roadblock for work trucks.
"If they can get to the streets because there aren't cars in the way, we can get the job done the way we want and get you back safely to what you want to do," said Baltimore County executive Jim Smith.
Kai Jackson reports plows are dumping tons of salt on the inner loop of I-695 near Pikesville, Baltimore County as the storm hits Maryland hard.
Baltimore County has 2,600 miles of road for which it's responsible. Officials say with a storm this large and so fast-moving, to get ahead of it is almost impossible.
The idea of even keeping up with it is almost as hard.
Across the state, shoppers attempted to stock up on supplies with eyes on the sky, ready to ride out the storm.
SHA has 266,000 tons of salt across the state and nearly 2,200 pieces of equipment and 2,400 people available to respond to the storm.
Officials will monitor the storm from SHA's Statewide Operations Center in Hanover where it has centralized communications and access to over 150 traffic cameras located around the state.
Motorists should never pass a snow plow. SHA says motorists should remember that since the untreated roadway is ahead of the plows, the safer roadway is behind them.
Meanwhile, a local merchant is doing his best to keep things welcoming for his customers.
"I want it to start snowing early tomorrow and snow all weekend long," said Steve Roope, Portside Tavern owner. "People don't have to work, and you know what happens when they don't work."
At BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, crews are tracking the storm, which is delaying and canceling several flights.
Southwest Airlines says it's canceled most Friday evening flights and all flights scheduled for Saturday.
"We certainly encourage customers to check with their airlines or the airports website as well to get the most up-to-date flight status information," said Jonathan Dean, BWI spokesperson.
People across the state have been hitting grocery stores and home improvement stores hard.
"We knew they were coming in. We queued up the people and told them, 'If you want a shovel, show up early,'" said Wayne Kahn, Ace Hardware.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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