Freezing Rain

As the season's fourth winter storm turned rainy Friday afternoon, Anne Arundel road workers said they should have plenty of money, manpower, salt and sand to last until spring.Friday's storm, which dumped about 2 inches of powdery snow followed by sleet, freezing rain and rain across the Baltimore region, left county road crews with halfof their $390,000 snow removal budget, said Fred Glaeser, acting chief of road operations with the Department of Public Works."We're running pretty normal," Glaeser said.

Light snow was expected to begin falling by 8 a.m. today around the Baltimore metropolitan area, changing to a mixture of sleet and freezing rain by midmorning and making for hazardous travel conditions throughout the region during the evening commute. The National Weather Service has issued a 24-hour winter weather advisory beginning today at 7 a.m. for the city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties and an ice storm warning for northern Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties.

Sleet and freezing rain slowed traffic and caused minor accidents north and west of Baltimore last night, but the storm brought snow to far Western Maryland where as many as 100 tractor-trailers jackknifed on Interstate 68, blocking its westbound lanes, state police said.Light rain and drizzle was expected to continue today in the Baltimore metropolitan area and then clear for tomorrow's official start of spring.Bill Miller, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, said tomorrow will be mostly sunny with temperatures near 50.The weekend will be partly cloudly with temperatures dropping into the low 40s.Last night, six counties -- Howard, Carroll, Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett -- had emergency snow removal plans in effect between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.State police at Frederick reported a woman was seriously injured last night when her car spun out of control on icy Route 26 and crashed into an on-coming pickup truck.

Some major thoroughfares, ramps and secondary roads were converted into treacherous driving and walking adventures today as a freezing rain spread a thin, icy glaze in the Baltimore metropolitan area, causing countless accidents and late school openings.Last night, when the storm first started, two motorists were killed in weather-related crashes."It's treacherous," said Sgt. R. Waters at the Bel Air barracks of the State Police. "Road crews were out all night spreading salt. It melted for a few minutes, then froze right up again."

Three people were killed today in auto accidents around th state as a freezing rain converted highways and secondary roadways into treacherous surfaces that caused hundreds of major and minor accidents, area police reported.In a wild series of crashes on Interstate 95-495 in Prince George's County north of the Suitland Parkway, about 25 vehicles careened out of control and killed two motorists in the process.According to State Police TFC Brad Harrold of the Forestville barracks, Paul Ricardo Nunnaly, 17, of Washington, and Joanna Jean Hutchinson, 20, of Forestville, were killed shortly after 1:30 a.m."

The gray wet gloom of today will be kicked out of the area tonight and the fair season of spring will be ushered in tomorrow under sunny skies with temperatures in the 50s.The break in the weather will only be temporary, however, with the National Weather Service calling for cooler temperatures and partly cloudy conditions for the weekend.Bill Miller, a National Weather Service forecaster at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, said light rain and drizzle were expected to continue today in the Baltimore metropolitan area and then clear for tomorrow's official start of spring.

A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain - with accumulations of up to 6 inches in the Baltimore area - was expected to make this morning's commute especially hazardous. The National Weather Service posted winter storm warnings for all of Central Maryland, from Frederick and Montgomery counties to the Chesapeake Bay, beginning last night at 6 p.m. and lasting until noon today. The precipitation was expected to begin falling in the form of snow and sleet last night before changing to freezing rain, ending by about 10 a.m. today, with 3 to 6 inches predicted for Baltimore and the surrounding areas.

An army of salt trucks and plows hit the streets and highways across much of Maryland last night as another dose of icy weather moved across the state. Temperatures are expected to rise above freezing today - with forecasters calling for a high of 40 degrees in the Baltimore area - and change the ice to rain, but the morning commute could hold slippery surprises for motorists and pedestrians in many areas. Beginning late last night, road crews tried to head off trouble. In Baltimore, public works officials had dispatched 116 salt trucks by 10 p.m. To the west in Hagerstown, crews were struggling to clear a half-inch of snow and ice from main roadways, police said.

Freezing rain that fell early today throughout the metropolita area proved fatal when a car and a tractor-trailer collided on ice-covered northbound Interstate 95 near Washington Boulevard in Southwest Baltimore, killing at least one person.Sgt. Arnold Street of the Toll Facilities Police at the Fort McHenry Tunnel said the icy roadway contributed to the 4 a.m. accident. Sergeant Street said police believe the victim was an occupant of the car, but details were not immediately available.The wreckage tied up early morning traffic that was detoured away from the scene, he said.

As yet another winter storm bore down on the mid-Atlantic states yesterday, Carroll highway officials said they were running out of road salt.Several municipalities and Carroll County Public Schools also faced shortages because they depend upon the county for their salt supply."