Wind Chill Warning: Strong Winds Are Ramping Up Following A Nor'easter
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Whipping winds are ramping up in Maryland—even flying at 21 miles per hour in some parts of the state.
As a result, the lower Eastern Shore and Garrett County are under a Wind Chill Advisory until 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The National Weather Service is tracking a 13°F wind chill in Easton and a -9°F wind chill in Garrett County.
The advisory comes after the Nor'easter hit parts of the Eastern Shore with up to 1 foot of snow and strong winds. Ocean City has already seen 14 inches of accumulation.
Meanwhile, Ocean City had reported 14 inches of snow about 11:30 a.m. Salisbury saw 9 /12 inches. West of the Chesapeake Bay, Annapolis saw 3.6 inches, Norrisville in Harford County saw 3.2 inches and Edgemere in Baltimore Country saw 2.2 inches.
On Friday, Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in all nine Eastern Shore counties ahead of the storm and mobilized 125 Maryland National Guard soldiers at armories in Southern Maryland and on the Eastern Shore to potentially help with clean-up efforts.
A Blizzard Warning was in effect for much of the day Worcester, Somerset and Wicomico Counties. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory in those areas until Sunday at 1.a.m.
Gusts of up to 50 mph will blew snow that fell overnight and limit visibility to a quarter mile or less.
As of 12:50 p.m., the Maryland State Police said they had received 888 calls for service and troopers responded to 125 crashes and 102 disabled vehicles.
State transportation officials reported traffic delays as the wind continued to push snow back onto roadways after they were cleared.
"Wind gusts are making it challenging to keep snow cleared from the roads," the State Highway Administration tweeted. "If you need to be out driving in this area, use caution even if the road you're on looks clear."
Those strong wind gusts were accompanied by flight cancellations and delays.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport saw 92 flights cancelled and 59 flights delayed by 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to FlightAware. Flight-tracking data shows that Southwest Airlines shouldered the majority of the cancelled and delayed flights—with 74 cancelled and 50 delayed.
With temperatures in the mid 20s, the strong winds will make it feel like the single digits.
Wind chill temperatures will be dangerously low tonight into Sunday morning. Expect it to feel like zero, if not below. These wind chill advisories are primarily for parts of state along the coast, such as Inland Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset Counties.
Temperatures will likely remain freezing through Monday morning. But the cold will only be around for a little longer and there are warm days ahead. Eventually, as the Nor'easter leaves the area, those temperatures will return to the upper 30s.
This story will be updated.
