Freezing Could Cause Problems Overnight

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A winter storm dumps several inches of snow on central Maryland.

Derek Valcourt reports freezing could cause major problems Tuesday night.

The overnight snow fell fast, piling up quickly across much of Maryland.

From Shrewsbury, Pa. to Baltimore City, the digging out began early.

“It’s very light, nothing to worry about. I wish Johns Hopkins was closed or a little delayed. Besides that, no worries. It’s going to melt immediately,” said Tamir Devorin.

In Harford County, shovels, scrapers and snowblowers were out in abundance.  Lots of people were trying to get a handle on the snowy mess in their own driveways before they could make it out to the busier roads.

“It’s lighter, I think, than the last one, but it’s enough to make it tough to drive, so we’ll see when we get out there how bad it is,” said Teddy Melanson.

In most parts of Maryland, snow plows were out in force throughout the night.  Still slick roads may have been a factor in several early morning accidents.

But with little traffic to compete with overnight, plow trucks quickly made progress on the major roads, though some side streets took time to clear. 

“There wasn’t much traffic on the roadways throughout the night, so that made it easier for us to maneuver through and get our passes completed,” said Adrienne Barnes, Baltimore City Department of Transportation.

But what Mother Nature gives, she can also take away. That’s exactly what she started doing as temperatures warmed up in the afternoon.

Blame all that bright sunshine for turning some streets into small streams of melt.  In some places neighbors were clearing away more water than they were snow.

“Tonight when the temperatures drop, this water will freeze and then your car can get locked into the ice when it’s sitting too close to the curb, so you have to watch getting too close to the curb,” said Dave Heffler.

Refreezing overnight is also a concern for road crews.

“Our bridges, overpasses and hills are the most dangerous, so we do expect you to proceed with extreme caution,” said Barnes. 

All this snow is a tough pill to swallow, especially for those counting on the groundhog’s prediction of an early spring.

“I think that Punxsutawney Phil was definitely wrong, but chances are he’s a Steelers fan, so what does he know?” said Chris Perrin.

“I’m kinda tired of [snowfalls] and I can’t wait for spring,” said Debbie Slerrell.

“After a week of really nice weather, it’s kinda hard to go back, but hopefully this will clear up and we’ll have some good weather going forward,” said Brett Snyder.