EAS: NEPA Tornado Warning (WITH ACTUAL NWS AUDIO)
Update 11:45 a.m.: Burkittsville had about 6.5 inches of snow around 11 a.m., according to Mayor Debby Burgoynes measurement.
The county plows Main Street, she added, and local landscapers and residents generally clean up side streets, alleys and parking lots.
We didnt get that much snow, thank goodness. ... Its a farming community so everybody pitches in, she said, noting that people sometimes use farming equipment for snow removal.
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Update 11:15 a.m.:Crews with Frederick"s Department of Public Works are still out and about clearing the snow emergency and trying to open collector streets.
According to a news release from Patti Mullins, a public information coordinator for the city, the snow emergency routes were the first priority while the snow was still falling.
The release said towing of cars that had not been removed from the snow emergency routes had also started around 9 a.m. Towing is done at the owners expense.
All city offices and parks and recreation sites are closed Tuesday due to to the snow. The parks and recreation commission planned for Tuesday evening was canceled.
The release warned residents not to move snow from private properties into the snow emergency route. Rules for property owners are listed on the citys website at: http://www.cityoffrederick.com/244/Snow-Removal.
City crews are removing snow in phases. Phase one is salting; phase two is plowing the emergency routes; phase three is plowing the collector streets; phase four is hauling and cleanup; and phase five is recovery, or final cleanup of problem areas.
As of about 11 a.m., crews had begun phase three.
The city has also launched its snow app that shows on a map where snow removal has occurred. Officials are currently testing the app on the citys website.
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Update 10:20 a.m.:
Police andutility companies weren"t reporting any majoremergencies or outages in Frederick County as the bulk of a snowstorm subsided Tuesday morning.
The majority of the storm was already leaving the area as of about 9:30 a.m., with much higher snowfall expected in regions farther north, said Jim Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia.
While a single report of about 10 inches of snowfall was logged by the weather service from a reliable spotter about three miles northwest of the city of Frederick, most totals fell between 6 to 8 inches, Lee said.
At least in Frederick County, not much more snowfall was anticipated.
We"re still going to see some scattered snow showers throughout the rest of the day. There"s a little bit of banding going on just to the east of you, but I would expect just another inch or two at the very most, and that"s just at the higher elevations, Lee said.
A total of 7 inches was reported in Walkersville, while a spotter in Middletown reported 8 inches, he said. Another report logged about 6 inches in the Ballenger Creek area.
In spite of the subsiding snowfall, the winter storm warning over much of the region will remain in effect until at least 2 p.m. Tuesday, Lee said.
Neither state police nor county sheriff"s deputies were dealing with any major snow-related emergencies as of about 9:30 a.m., according to Sgt. Stephen Johnson, a state police supervisor in the Frederick barrack.
Just people sliding around, but we"re getting them back on their way. My guys are all out with the county [sheriff"s office] and they"ve been relaying us information. I haven"t heard that there"s anything impassible out there just bad conditions in some places, Johnson said.
He said he would still advise residents to stay off the roads until road crews could more thoroughly clear them.
Pretreatment of county roads began at 8 p.m. Monday and the first county crews rolled out to begin plowing at about midnight.
It was estimated that about 80 percent of the county"s priority roadways those connecting or feeding into larger state routes were passable as of 6 a.m., according to a Frederick County press release at 9 a.m.
Another 15 percent of county primary roads connected to major residential areas and subdivisions were passable and 5 percent of subdivision roads were passable at that time, the release estimated.
As of 6 a.m. the county was using approximately 80 plows and 12 pieces of heavy equipment, supplemented by 40 contracted plows. There were also two county-owned and 22 contracted skid loaders in use.
FirstEnergy was reporting fewer than five power outages in Frederick County as of about 9:20 a.m., according to the utility"s website. A short time later than number dropped to zero.
Jeremy Arias
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Update 7:45 a.m.: The latest National Weather Service update includes a report of 8 inches of snow measured northwest of Frederick. That report, from a Weather Service employee, was as of 6:14 a.m.
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Update 6 a.m.: The City of Frederick"s offices will be closed Tuesday, according to a news release. Mayor Randy McClement made the decision based on weather predictions that indicated sleet may continue to fall through the morning, the release stated.
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Update 12:30 a.m.: Maryland State Police were called to Interstate 70, near Md. 180, to investigate a report of a dump truck that had rolled over. Police said no one was injured. The call went out at about 11:50 p.m. According to the Maryland State Highway Administration, all lanes were on I-70 west were closed in that area.
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Update 11:20 p.m.: Despite a light accumulation of snowfall, roads remained relatively quiet for local law enforcement.
Neither the Frederick Police Department nor the Frederick County Sheriffs Office had responded to any snow-related calls as of 11 p.m., according to supervisors with both agencies.
The Maryland State Police responded to two minor accidents, according to Sgt. Todd Hill. One involved a vehicle crash with property damage and the other involved a vehicle that slid off the road.
Minutes later, around 11:05 p.m., troopers responded to a vehicle accident with a rollover on eastbound U.S. 340 near South Mountain Road.
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Update 11 p.m.:Mount St. Marys Universitys campuses in Emmitsburg and Frederick will be closed "for all but essential personnel" on Tuesday, the school said in a press release Monday night. The Knott Athletic Recreation Convocation Complex and the national shrine of the Grotto of Lourdes also will be closed.
Daytimes classes and activities will be canceled. A decision on evening classes and activities will be made by late Tuesday morning, the school said.
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Update 9:40 p.m.: Gov. Larry Hogan has signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in anticipation of the snowstorm. The order took effect at 9 p.m. on Monday.
Our state is taking every precaution and coordinating all available resources to respond to this winter storm, Hogan said in a press release. We urge all Marylanders to use common sense and to stay indoors and off the roads. Now is the time to remain alert and regularly check for updated weather forecasts as conditions change.
The Maryland Emergency Management Agency is coordinating with other state agencies during the storm, the press release said.
Residents were encouraged to check the Maryland Emergency Management Agency"s website, mema.maryland.gov, for more information about preparedness. MEMA also is posting on its Facebook page and its Twitter feed, @MDMEMA.
The city of Frederick said the William R. Talley Recreation Center at 121 N. Bentz St., will open at noon on Tuesday. All classes and programs scheduled for the morning were canceled. The city will re-evaluate at 9 a.m. and announce updates.
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Update 9:30 p.m.: Frederick County Public Schools will be closed Tuesday, according to a news release issued Monday night. Frederick Memorial Hospital will remain open throughout the storm, but many of its associated clinics will close on Tuesday.
All after-school and evening activities for FCPS are also canceled or postponed.
School-based daycare programs and Parks and Recreation programs in school gyms will make and announce their own decisions concerning their schedules, according to the release. FCPS employees are on code yellow. FCPS Facilities Services central office staff will contact designated emergency personnel with instructions about when to report to work.
Meanwhile, Lucy School in Middletown also will be closed on Tuesday.
Frederick Memorial Hospital will remain open throughout the storm, but many Frederick Regional Health Systems clinics will be closed on Tuesday. The Immediate Care locations in Frederick and Urbana are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Among the closed clinics are the Monocacy Health Partners medical practices including:
- Center for Breast Care
- Center for Chest Disease
- Dental Clinic
- Endocrine & Thyroid Specialists
- Internal Medicine Associates
- Oncology Care Consultants
- Orthopaedic Specialists of Frederick
- Pain & Supportive Care Services
- Parkview Medical Group
- Surgical Specialists
- Union Bridge Family Practice
- Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine
Also closed will be the Prenatal Clinic; the Anti-Coagulation (Coumadin) Clinic; and the Cardio/Pulmonary Rehab program. Hospice of Frederick County also will be closed.
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Update 5:30 p.m.: Maryland State Police announced it has implemented snow emergency plans for multiple counties, including Frederick, in advance of the expected snow.
The emergency plan went into effect at 3 p.m., according to a news release.
The snow emergency plan applies to any state highway designated by the Maryland State Highway Administration as a snow emergency route.
Declaration of a snow emergency means a person may not park a vehicle on any snow emergency route. Any vehicle parked along a snow emergency route may be removed by police or SHA personnel immediately.
Crews began towing any abandoned vehicles from the shoulders of snow emergency routes.
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Update 5:15 p.m.: Mount St. Marys Universitys Emmitsburg and Frederick campuses will be closed Monday at 6 p.m. for all evening classes and activities.
The university will continue to monitor conditions and make a further announcement by 10 p.m.
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(Original: 4:55 p.m.)
Because of the imminent snowstorm, Frederick County government offices, Frederick County Public Libraries and the Frederick County court system will be closed on Tuesday, County Executive Jan Gardner announced at a press briefing on Monday.
The county landfill, run by the county Department of Solid Waste Management will be closed Tuesday, according to a Monday press release. All the department"s facilities at Reichs Ford Road will be closed.
Recycling pickups on Tuesday are being postponed. All collections will be postponed by one day later than they are usually scheduled, the press release states.
All Frederick County Public Schools afternoon and evening activities today have been canceled, the school district announced.
Initially, the district sent out an email stating that all activities must end by 8 p.m. today, but later revised its statement and issuing a blanket cancellation.
"Any activities or practices that are currently underway should be concluded and arrangements should be made to get all students home safely," the district email reads.
It has not yet canceled school for Tuesday.
About 8 to 10 inches was expected to blanket the region beginning Monday night into early Tuesday, Andrew Snyder, a National Weather Service meteorologist. said Monday. Areas of the county along the ridges of South and Catoctin mountains could get up to a foot of snow.
Southern Maryland would be largely spared from the storm, while the Interstate 95 corridor to D.C. could see snow accumulations closer to 4 to 6 inches, Snyder said.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for parts of Maryland, including Frederick County, from 7 p.m. Monday to 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The brunt of the storm would hit Frederick soon after snow started falling Monday night, Snyder said. The heaviest snow was expected to end by 10 a.m. Tuesday, although scattered snow showers would continue through the afternoon.
The snow would coincide with a sharp drop in temperatures, with an overnight low in the upper 20s. Temperatures might rise to just above freezing by Tuesday afternoon.
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNGdgmc930OE5_iYswI2N4EykWvRTA&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779420232062&ei=Zx7IWLjGGsHa3AHawYyQBQ&url=https://www.fredericknewspost.com/public/weather-update-a-m-national-weather-service-reports-inches-of/article_14d99243-3b06-5fd7-8c03-a7eacca2e4aa.html
