Accumulation

It's a wet, snowy day in Western Maryland. The storm may not dump as much snow in Maryland as expected, or as much as has already fallen a bit further north, though. Traffic cameras show slick roadways and white on everything else. Forecasters are calling for 2-4 inches in Allegany and Garrett Counties, according to the National Weather Service. Two inches were reported in Frostburg as of 7 a.m., according to a weather spotter report to the National Weather Service.

To: Mother Nature From: The Sun staff Re: Today's forecastA winter storm watch for Western Maryland. Snow possible in Carroll and Frederick counties. Sleet mixed with rain in the metro area, just in time for morning rush hour. Talk about deja vu all over again.Yes, we know that's a baseball cliche. That's all we have left after this winter. We surrender; we raise a white flag to the white stuff. All our rhetorical weapons are exhausted against your ceaseless barrage. (Have we used "barrage" to describe the weather yet?

T. S. ELIOT was wrong - April ain't the cruelest month. Try February snow or May rain, Hon, right here in Baltimore and elsewhere in the Northeast this year. Somehow it's fitting in this year that with everything going generally wrong, the seasons themselves should seem out of season. Summer is now upon us, so it's worth reviewing what we've been through so far. A once-in-a-century 26-inch snowstorm in February collapsed the beautiful round roof of the B&O Railroad Museum on Pratt Street.

THERE'S more sidewalk talk today. Last week's column on snow-covered sidewalks caused a flurry of responses, including a call from Howard County Executive James N. Robey's office. According to Herman Charity, a spokesman for Robey, county police do try to enforce the county's 48-hour snow removal regulation. "The police usually begin by requesting in person that they comply. If they don't, they will actually issue a citation," he said. And regarding the uncleared county sidewalks discussed last week?

Although Monday night left almost no snow accumulation, morning commuters will face a light dusting through rush hour this morning, as flurries are expected throughout the Baltimore region, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters project the accumulation will be no more than half an inch in most places. Temperatures will remain below average, with a high in the mid-30s today and 20 mph to 30 mph winds.

Expectations of a storm to bring the heaviest snow in at least two years for the region have been dialed back as the National Weather Service has canceled its winter storm warning. High winds and wet roads remain a concern. Check here for live blog updates on conditions and forecasts. 4:36 p.m.:  Weather service meteorologists are no longer expecting any meaningful wintry precipitation Wednesday night, lifting the winter weather advisory for much of Central Maryland. Concerns remain over high winds in the Baltimore area and dangerous conditions along the coast, however, with rough surf and some rescues needed.

Meteorologists watching forecast models for a potential mid-week snowfall are gaining confidence that a developing storm could affect Maryland, but whether it will bring significant snow accumulation remains uncertain. Models were showing late Saturday an area of low pressure likely to reach the region Tuesday night through Wednesday, potentially packing a large amount of moisture. As with many storm systems to pass through this winter, it was not immediately clear where that water might fall as rain and where as snow.

What do you know about Marcellus shale, a sedimentary bedrock that underlies much of the Appalachian Basin, including Maryland's westernmost counties, and why should you care? I didn't know anything about the black shale that was deposited about 400 million years ago during the Devonian period until the other day, when I was talking with a few Maryland geologists. In an 1839 report, Marcellus Shales in Seneca County, James Hall of the New York State Geological Society named the shale after an outcropping of it was discovered near Marcellus, N.Y. The reason Marcellus shale is important in this energy-conscious age is that it may well harbor about 500 trillion cubic feet of untapped natural gas, according to Terry Englander, a geoscience professor at Pennsylvania State University, and Gary Lash, a geology professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

The Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Domino Sugar $4,000 for allowing sugar dust to accumulate in its refinery, which is believed to have caused an explosion last year at the Key Highway plant in South Baltimore, according to a state report. The Nov. 2 explosion echoed across the harbor, and authorities said they suspected sugar dust might have ignited. Three employees suffered minor injuries, several pieces of equipment were destroyed and dozens of windows were shattered in the blast.

A letter from Edwin Leimkuhler of Baltimore described an offer from a waterproofing contractor to install a black, slitted, corrugated plastic tubing around the perimeter of his basement. He was told, however, there was a danger of it becoming clogged with an accumulation of dust and dirt. Another company proposed using rigid plastic pipe with holes in the underside of the pipe. He wants to know whether there is any important difference. What Edwin is describing is the essential component of a typical basement waterproofing system - a drain tile or "French drain."