Watch CBS News

Highway Officials Prepare For Major Snow Event This Weekend

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Two important weather stories: light snow coating some parts of Maryland Wednesday night, and a Blizzard Watch is already posted for a big storm expected this weekend.

Rick Ritter with how the state's preparing for what could be one of the biggest storms it's had in years.

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation will activate its emergency operations center for the Thursday morning commute.

A dire situation across the Baltimore region, as the state gears up for what could be a historic winter blast.

"We don't want to overreact, but we encourage people to start getting prepared," said Governor Larry Hogan.

FIRST WARNING WX: Morning Commute Could Be Icy; Blizzard Watch For This Weekend | TIPS: Planning Ahead | Current Conditions | Live Blog | Download The App | School Closings

With snow in sight, a line of trucks are now on deck and will soon haul close to 400,000 tons of rock salt for the storm.

"Potentially wet, heavy snow, which could lead to outages," said Justin Mulcahy, BGE Communications.

Mulcahy says it's all hands on deck where their storm center will be up and running.

"What we like to do is tell our customers while we're preparing, we want you to prepare as well," he said.

At Roland Slate Service, it's flashbacks to 2010.

"We had a 25 week backlog from the 2010 snow storm." said John Rich, Roland Slate Service.

Homeowners are keeping their fingers crossed.

"The biggest issue is the snow damming at the edge of the roof," said Rich.

At Ayd Hardware in Towson, shelves that were fully stocked with shovels Wednesday morning are now empty. And if they're not buying shovels, people are buying snow blowers or dropping off their own to get maintenance.

A hectic, but busy day for owner Vince Ayd.

"We've been moving a lot of ice melt, a lot of snow shovels, sleds," he said.

One of those rushing to his popular store was Bob Nash, who has a long weekend ahead.

"I'm the only one on my block with a snow blower," he said.

As Maryland braces for the worst.

Officials are urging homeowners to make sure they have an emergency kit and to be prepared for outages. And if you're hitting the road, drive slow and give yourself time to get to where you're going.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.