Freezing

The National Weather Service is forecasting highs in the mid-30s Wednesday in the Baltimore area, with wind chills making it feel 10 degrees colder. Downtown, the weather service forecasts a high of 37 degrees, with a 10 mph breeze making it feel like 30 degrees. Sunny skies are expected, with some clouds moving in overnight. Temperatures are expected to drop to the mid 20s overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Similar weather is forecast Thursday, with highs again in the mid-30s and wind chills in the 20s. The weather service forecasts precipitation as unlikely through the weekend.

Winter lovers enjoyed a light snowfall in the Baltimore region Saturday without many of the usual headaches, as the snow passed after several hours with few traffic concerns. But State Highway Administration officials urged motorists to continue to be cautious of roads freezing over. Early in the new year, forecasters expect some rain with a slim chance of more wintry precipitation. Also, a significant chill could be on the way, bringing a chance for the first full day of sub-freezing temperatures in nearly a year in Baltimore.

We had a big wasps' nest last summer. We were told that it's safe to remove the nest after frost, but we still see wasps. When will they be gone? It takes a hard freeze to kill the worker wasps. They die, and the newly mated queens abandon the nest and winter elsewhere. In the spring they start a new hive somewhere else. No wasps will reuse an old hive. Wasps, as well as yellow jackets and European hornets, all behave this way. This fall has been mild. When normal winter temperatures kick in, you won't see wasps anymore.

Eighteen NFL stadiums still feature natural grass, and one of those stadiums is Heinz Field, the site of Sunday night's showdown between the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a projected low of 35 degrees Sunday night, punter Sam Koch is hopeful that the above-freezing temperatures will keep the grass inside Heinz Field soft enough to kill punts inside the 20. “When you watched [Monday] night with Kansas City, some of their punts when they hit the ground, they landed soft,” Koch said.

Freezing temperatures were warned for much of Maryland on Saturday morning, but it didn't get quite that cold in areas within several miles of the Chesapeake Bay. Further from the water, though, temperatures were much colder. At BWI Marshall Airport, Saturday's low was 35 degrees (Anne Arundel County wasn't included in a freeze warning area the National Weather Service's Baltimore/Washington office established). BWI is the official point of record for Baltimore. Record lows this time of year are in the 20s. Downtown at the Maryland Science Center, it was much warmer -- a low of 45 degrees, keeping things relatively comfortable for runners readying for the start of the Baltimore Running Festival.

Freezing temperatures are imminent in areas north and west of Baltimore, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a freeze warning for much of the state. Close to the Chesapeake Bay, the season's first frost is also possible. Forecasters had issued a freeze watch Thursday, which meant a strong likelihood of freezing temperatures was ahead, but a warning means the cold is on its way. Lows are expected in the upper 20s and low 30s in northern Baltimore County and Harford, Carroll and Howard counties.

A freeze watch is in effect for the Baltimore suburbs Friday night into Saturday, with temperatures potentially reaching the 20s or 30s. The National Weather Service's Baltimore/Washington office issued the watch Thursday afternoon. The advisory cautions of a risk to unprotected vegetation vulnerable to freezing. The watch is in effect in northern Baltimore County and Harford, Howard and Carroll counties. It extends further west to Montgomery, Frederick, Washington and Allegany counties.

Frostburg and the mountains of western Allegany County are under a freeze warning Monday night into Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. It is one of Maryland's first freezes of the season, as the coming winter cold marches east and into gradually lower elevations. The timing is just about right on schedule. Temperatures are expected to reach 30-32 degrees overnight along a slice of Allegany County and the West Virginia panhandle. They won't be the first freezing temperatures seen in Maryland so far this season. Garrett County Airport hit 32 degrees early Monday morning and has barely risen warmer than that, at 36 degrees as of 2 p.m. According to a Utah State University database of frost and freeze dates, the cold temperatures are arriving more or less on time.

Generating a solution to power outages With all the crazy weather lately, I'm worried that a big storm or deep freeze could leave us without power for a few days. Even if the worst doesn't happen, I want to be prepared. I know there are different kinds of generators out there — which type is best for a home? Disasters aside, a generator can be handy even for short outages; nobody likes throwing away spoiled milk! You essentially have two choices: an automatic standby model or a portable gasoline generator.

For the second time in recent weeks, The Baltimore Sun has highlighted the Department of Human Resources' "Ready by 21" program as evidence of significant strides in how Maryland is looking at new ways of improving the lives of youth aging out of foster care ("Ready for life," Sept. 4). As providers of services for children placed by both by DHR and the Department of Juvenile Services, we couldn't help but be struck by one particularly profound statement in The Sun's editorial: "Most of all, what the state's foster care system needs more of [is]