WASHINGTON – About 1 to 3 inches of snow covered much of central and western Maryland Tuesday night, causing school delays or closings and some minor disruptions for commuters on Wednesday.
Most public schools opened two hours late, though a few, including those in Carroll County and some on the northeastern side of the state, were closed, according to their respective Web sites.
“If we can’t clear parking lots and sidewalks leading up to our schools, we can’t open,” said Robert Herndon, spokesman for Baltimore County Public Schools. “A two-hour delay provides more daylight, in particular for those students who are walking.”
Stops on Baltimore’s Light Rail line north of the Timonium station in Baltimore County were out of operation Wednesday morning after a salt truck drove through the signal, bringing down both the overhead and trolley wires, said Maryland Transportation Authority spokesperson David Clark. The MTA is providing a shuttle bus for affected light rail travelers until service is restored, he added.
The accident also caused the Warren Road exit off of Interstate 83 and the surrounding area near Beaver Dam Road to be closed due to dangling wires, a police spokeswoman said.
Although Tuesday’s forecast called for up to 5 inches of snow in the Baltimore area, the lighter snowfall seemed to have little other effect on most travelers’ daily commutes.
Baltimore’s metro subway, the Washington Metro, and the MARC train all ran uninterrupted, although some of Baltimore City’s bus routes may have been diverted to different routes within the city, MTA and Metro officials confirmed.
“I didn’t even hear anything about it,” said one evening Washington Metro employee, who declined to give his name.
Still, for school systems, it is better to be safe than sorry.
“We have folks out at 2 a.m. on roads known to be troublesome,” said Herndon, emphasizing the care that school officials take when dealing with winter weather, as well as the impact the size of Baltimore County has on the schools’ decisions. “The weather in one part of the county may be totally different (than in another).”
No additional snow is anticipated for the next few days, although it is still expected to be windy, according to the National Weather Service forecast for the Baltimore region.