Maryland Digs Out From Second Round Of Winter Storm; Preps For Third
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Snow keeps falling on Maryland. After the biggest storm in years, a massive cleanup effort is underway. And we could wake up to more in the morning.
Christie Ileto has more on the efforts to dig out.
A second winter dig out for Maryland in 24 hours has many at their wits end.
"Yeah, I'm over it," Joseph Breeding said.
And we've got round three right around the corner.
"It certainly was a challenge to get a storm and then another storm on top of it and now a third one coming in," said Valerie Burnette Edgar, Maryland State Highway Administration.
Salt trucks are standing by Friday night. Crews have been plowing main streets and side roads all day, following record snow for the state since 2010. Westminster bears the brunt.
"It's getting to the point there's no place to pile it any higher," one man said.
As Baltimore woke up buried under snow, you could hear the big dig out from plows and people. Penny Ayers was hard at work in Hampden.
"My dad's handicapped, so I'm digging their vehicle out for them. My vehicle's still snowed in," she said. "I'd do it for anybody. Not only my parents, anybody."
Sky Eye Chopper 13 captured an MTA bus stuck in the melting muck.
"I think we're getting good marks. We're not out of the woods yet," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. "The crews have been phenomenal, working extremely hard. We've had the right deployment with our crews and the contractors."
"We're addressing every request coming into the 311 system. That location may be a little bit more challenging, We may need a different type of equipment," said Adrienne Barnes, Baltimore City Department of Transportation.
Road conditions over the last two days have been brutal—snow-packed, slushy and slick.
In East Baltimore, a sinkhole apparently plugged days ago crippled a snow truck trying to dig residents out.
Crowds of neighbors, like 10-year-old E'Layia, saw the whole thing.
"It was like quicksand," she said. "It was sinking slow."
Even with the plow truck now rescued, it's not hard to see the casualties of how brutal this winter has really been. We still have snow packed neighborhood streets, cars still quasi buried in and a sinkhole in the middle of the road.
Piles of snow stacked up in Howard County on Saint John's Lane. The pavement was covered in snow and ice.
Some of the worst conditions were on the ramp to Route 29 from Interstate 70.
Related Story: Yet Another Round Of Winter Weather Headed To Maryland
State highway officials say it was hard pack, caused by a burst of snow then quickly falling temperatures.
They treated the highway with liquid magnesium, but it still was a mess when Jenica Glenn drove over it.
"It was a car in front of me that started slowing down, so I figured it was something. When I started slowing down, I saw it was nothing but pure ice," she said.
And Cedric Webster isn't even finished digging out his Mitsubishi, even with some help.
Reporter: "How difficult has it been shoveling this stuff out?"
Webster: "It was actually better yesterday. But today, it's actually hard for real."
Reporter: "Are you sick of winter?"
Webster: "I'm tired of it. I don't like the cold at all."
And now more snow is on the way, just as Penny Ayers dug out her parents' car.
"It's heavy. I have a bad back," she said. "I'm not supposed to be doing it, but I don't care."
Related Link: Baltimore Snow Center
With looming snow on top of the record inches already fallen, Marylanders are just hoping to catch their breath.
"I think I share with most people, I am totally done with winter. I'm over it," the mayor said. "We don't want to see any more snow, but we have a few more days of winter left and we're going to get through it."
Highway officials remind motorists to remove all snow and ice from car before heading out. It's important to keep speeds down and leave plenty of room between vehicles. There may be ice.
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