Local News

Maryland is experiencing the third major winter storm in what's poised to be a record-breaking year for snow.

As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Baltimore County has between two and a half and six inches of snow already and Carroll County had a heavy snow band going through; there's up to eight inches in Eldersburg.

Howard County was one of the worst last time, but they have between two and a half and six inches now.  Frederick County has between three and seven inches, Harford County has between three and six inches, Anne Arundel County has between one and five inches and Montgomery County has between one and three inches.

MTA has announced that they will be providing transportation for dialysis patients.  For these residents, Baltimore City has created a centralized "medical needs customer" call center jointly staffed with the MTA to manage urgent requests. The call center will operate from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m.  To set this up, call the triage center at 443-984-4358.  MTA officials are asking people to be patient, as they expect to receive a lot of phone calls. 

Kelly McPherson reports even before this new storm started, travel was still difficult in much of the state.

Forecasts are calling for another 10 to 20 inches as road crews battled to move last weekend's snow away from roads to make room.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said the state is facing "a lot of challenges now as we go over the all-time record in a snow season" for Maryland.

"Our goal here for the next 48 hours is going to be to keep the highways passable for emergency vehicles and also for certain vital commerce that has to go on, including what we hope are resupplied salt trucks that are coming back to our salt dumps," O'Malley said.

Richard Muth, director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, said strong winds will kick up Wednesday morning and early afternoon, with speeds of up to 50 mph.

"We will be in blizzard conditions, no doubt, tomorrow," Muth said in a late Tuesday afternoon briefing.

State offices will be closed for all nonessential employees, Muth said. The Maryland General Assembly is scheduled to hold its 10 a.m. sessions for both the House and Senate.

While power outages from the weekend are down to about 6,000 customers, Muth said the next storm is bound to bring more.

"All the power companies are advising us they do expect widescale power outages tomorrow," Muth said. "They are at full force. They are standing by ready to respond to them."

The governor implored residents: "Do your civic duty by keeping your car off the roads, so that emergency vehicles and the plows can do what they need to do."

Neil Pedersen, Maryland's State Highway Administrator, also underscored that road conditions likely will be worse from the next wave of unusually heavy snowfall. Pedersen said it's crucial that front-loaders have space to remove snow beside roads to make room to push the freshly fallen snow that's expected, and he said state officials may need to close roads.

"We are going to be much quicker tonight than we were in the last snowstorm at shutting down roadways, working together with Maryland State Police, if we get disabled vehicles or jackknifed trailers," Pedersen said.

Private contractors have been plowing all over the region and are growing weary of the task.

"It's coming down pretty hard again and we still haven't finished from the first storm," said Shane Hresko.

"It's kind of icy underneath, so it's been a hectic snow," said Wade Bull.

"Baltimore City is definitely the worst condition as far as the roads and everything else.  There's no place to put it.  There's no room," said J.T. Dowling.

"People should stay off the road. We want no one on the road unless it's an essential trip that they have to make. Conditions will be extremely dangerous tomorrow, once again going from about 7 and probably going through late afternoon, early evening tomorrow," Muth said.   



"There may well come a time in the morning, because of blizzard conditions, that we might not even be able to do the plowing operations on the roads. We may have to pull our own crews off because visibility becomes so bad," O'Malley said.

In Baltimore, crews were dumping snow in several parks and parking lots around the city, including Druid Hill Park and Pimlico racetrack, to help make room, said Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman with the city's department of transportation.

"There's regrouping but no rest.  You have to make sure you have your supplies--if you need medicine, if you have to check on an elderly neighbor, a disabled neighbor, you have to get those things in place," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. 

Rotating firehouse closures have stopped.  

Emergency shelters are open.

"There was some concern with the extra snow coming in and the weight on the branches could hit the power lines.  So we have set up here to take in as many people as need to come," said shelter manager Bill Keir.

The governor said the cleanup from this storm has already cost $35 million.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon for Harford, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Prince George's counties all the way out to western Maryland.

This comes right on the heels of a massive winter storm that the state is just beginning to clean up after.

Major changes could be seen in many areas Tuesday morning.

Snow plows made it to Roland Park, to make streets passable for drivers.

"These conditions are just very unusual for Maryland. And that's why it's taking a much more intense effort for some of our roadways across the state," said Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley.

"Traffic pats down the snow in a number of instances on the roadway. The cold temperatures have resulted in that snow turning into ice and that ice adhering to the roadway," said Neil Pederson, SHA.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake says she's focused on staying prepared for this next big storm.

"We're trying to keep all of our resources in place, all of our National Guard resources, everything," said Mayor Rawlings-Blake.

Some streets remain untouched and the city has only plowed some other secondary streets once.

"We have to maneuver through cars being parked in travel lanes which are a big hazard, not only for us, but for others that are traveling," said Alfred Foxx, Department of Transportation.

For those who have made it out, supermarkets seem to be the first place that people are heading to.

Kai Jackson reports people headed to the supermarkets to stock up on food for yet another snowstorm.

Anticipating yet another snow in, Marylanders like Linda Oliver are out, braving the competition and preparing for the worst.

"I'm definitely going to be snowed in.  That's something I'm not looking forward to," Oliver said.

Heavy traffic at grocery stores around the region is solid proof that former rookies in the snow are becoming pros--at least when it comes to the pantry.

"We just stocked up on everything--bread, milk, juices, meats," said one shopper.

"This is the first time I've been out since Friday, so I had to get out.  It was mind-blowing," said another.

Of course, it's not just at the supermarket where things are flying off the shelves.  People are also stocking up on alcohol.

"We couldn't get the doors open fast enough this morning.  We've been busy since the moment we opened the doors," said Mitchell Pressman, Chesapeake Wine Company.

As for anyone looking ahead to digging out more snow, a sign at Home Depot on Eastern Avenue says it all: no more shovels, no more salt.

"We have waiting lists.  People have been calling constantly every day.  We're working with other stores to get products transferred in," said Home Depot Manager Nick Spyridakos.

And getting to any shop likely takes gas, but some stations are running out of fuel.

So whether it's food you're after or other supplies, you may not find it, no matter how long you're willing to wait.

Meanwhile, parking on major city streets has been a nightmare.

Since the storm on Saturday, the city has ticketed or towed more than 200 vehicles parked on snow emergency routes. As this winter's snowfalls totals will go in the record books, the city advice remains the same.

"We need people to continue being slow and careful in their driving, being very courteous," said Swaim.

The unfortunate thing is once the big snowfall starts again, the snow plows will mainly be focusing on those main roads.

The storm is already impacting BWI Thurgood Marshall. The airline said on its Web site that because of the storm, it has canceled most of its afternoon and evening flights to and from BWI and Dulles, as well as morning and early afternoon flights on Wednesday.

Travelers should check the flight status information on Southwest's Web site before heading for the airport.

As far as train travel, Amtrak is offering limited Acela Express and regional service along the northeast corridor.  Amtrak says it's still recovering from downed trees and power lines on portions of their tracks.

Their website gives you a full listing of train routes that are already canceled.

MARC train also canceled several of its lines Tuesday and is operating on a very limited schedule for Wednesday.

Click here to see current snowfall amounts.

Around the region, some homeowners are dealing with the bitter reality that they haven't been plowed out from the first blizzard and now Mother Nature is unloading on them again.

Derek Valcourt has a look at the condition of the still unplowed side streets.

Around the region, there are plenty of streets where plows haven't even been yet.

"That's my street right there and every time it snows back here, they just forget about us," said Andrea Thompson.  "It's rough, really rough."

In some communities, frustrated residents are banding together.

"My neighbor and I have worked together, trying to make it so that we can get together in case of illness or emergency, and we pay our taxes.  I pay mine, she pays hers and this is what we've got to contend with," said Joyce Davis.

They're doing what they can, considering the snow in the street is too much and too heavy.

"It's a mess but there ain't too much we can do, you know.  It come from upstairs and we got to put it somewhere, so all we can do is wait for the help to come," said Keith Rogers.

The problem with these side streets is that some of them are so narrow, there's just nowhere to put all of this snow.

"Today was my husband's fourth day without dialysis.  He can't go like that," said Ann Gambrill.

Gambrill is so worried about her husband, she keeps calling the city, asking to get their street plowed.

"Starting at 7:21 Sunday morning.  I called them Sunday afternoon, I called them three times yesterday.  I have confirmation numbers for every one of those calls that I made," Gambrill said.

But like so many, they're stuck waiting and worrying about the next snowfall.

Power outages remain one of the biggest concerns for state officials. BGE has restored tens of thousands of customers, but almost as many residents in D.C. suburbs are still in the dark.

"With the weight of the snow, the tree limbs are dropping on the lines, and the lines are coming down. So some of these people may be out for a while," said Richard Muth, Maryland Emergency Management Agency.  "It's a very real concern.  All the power companies are advising us that they do expect wide-scale power outages tomorrow.  They are in full force."

Read more about power outages.

Federal government offices were closed for a second day and utility workers are struggling to restore power knocked out by a weekend blizzard.

The governor says National Guard units are helping local emergency managers around the state and have deployed in 41 areas around the state. 

The National Guard had 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 has had one humvee at each police station to ensure fire, police and EMTs can get around. They are also fully staffed.
 
O'Malley has asked people to help others.

"Watch out for your neighbors. Look out for senior citizens, work together. We're all going to be a few days digging out of this, especially on secondary streets. Here's an opportunity to meet your neighbors," he said.

The I-95 corridor was most impacted by the storm. But from side streets to major highways, it's easy to get stuck.

"I remember in the early '80s, we had a really bad snow, but this is way bad," said one traveler.

Many tree branches have fallen on cars. The owner of one destroyed car has never experienced a monster snowstorm. 

"This is really bad. I am hearing from people who have lived in Baltimore all their lives that they've never seen it like this," said the car owner. 

The state has more than 2,000 pieces of equipment on the roads, but the governor said the cleanup won't be over overnight.

"Going to be very treacherous ,and we are going to encourage people that they need to plan to stay off the roads for the next couple of days until we dig our way out of this thing," O'Malley said.

All of this clean-up takes money. 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 had to abandon 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. 

Again, 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.

The first of nine ships bringing hundreds of thousands of tons of road salt has arrived at the Port of Baltimore as the region prepares for another big snowstorm.

The ship carrying 40,000 tons of salt arrived Monday and Rukert Terminals President John Coulter says the next ship is due Sunday.

Coulter says the rock salt and solar salt from Mexico and Chile will be distributed to agencies in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The nine shipments are arriving over the next two weeks. Coulter says this is a restocking operation and is unusual that nine ships would come in such a short time.

Montgomery County spokeswoman Esther Bowring says the county is constantly restocking supplies. She says the county has 100 trucks going back and forth to the docks in Baltimore to pick up more salt and sand.

It's a lot to handle as Maryland struggles to cope with one of the biggest winter storms ever, as another one heads our way.

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