Storm Brings Slick Roads, Outages To Mid-Atlantic

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- Power companies say it will be at least Friday before electricity is restored to some of the 125,000 customers affected by a storm that coated parts of Maryland and Delaware with up to a half-inch of ice.

Officials opened overnight shelters Wednesday in Frederick, Bel Air and Westminster. Frederick County also announced warming centers, with no sleeping accommodations, at four fire stations across the county.

Baltimore Gas and Electric reported nearly 72,000 customers still in the dark late Wednesday afternoon, mostly in Carroll, Baltimore and Harford counties.

Potomac Edison had 44,000 Maryland outages, mostly in Frederick, Carroll and Washington counties.

Delmarva Power reports about 5,000 outages in northern Delaware and 2,000 in Harford County, Md.

Maryland State Police warn the outages may cause traffic-light malfunctions, and drivers should be careful.

Meanwhile, Baltimore-Washington International Airport says airline operations were back to normal Wednesday afternoon after some morning delays and cancellations. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says both Dulles and Reagan also have recovered from early disruptions.

The Maryland Transit Administration has reduced the number of afternoon trains out of Washington on the MARC Brunswick line after a troublesome morning. Spokesman Paul Shepard tells The Frederick News-Post that two morning trains hit fallen trees on the tracks. He says no one was hurt in either incident.

Shepard says passengers from the first affected train were transferred to a later train. Then that train hit a fallen tree and passengers were transferred again.

Related Story: Maryland Deals With Slippery Roads, Falling Trees & Power Outages

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