Heavy Snow

Since the snow and the Winter Olympics bring Canada to mind this week, and since folks have asked ... yes, we do get snows like this up north (and sometimes worse) -- but not very often, especially with accelerating climate change in the last few decades. The big differences I'm noticing between the Canadian and Baltimorean snow experiences are, first, the government's ability to deal with it; and second, citizen reactions. First, the government. We pay higher taxes in Canada, and most of us don't mind.

From The Aegis of Jan. 29, 1987: Harford County got hit with back-to-back snow storms this week in 1987, when 20 inches of snow fell and left the county at a standstill. The first storm hit Jan. 22, a Thursday, dropping a foot of white stuff. "Battered and weary, the County slowly came to its feet, a stunned but determined fighter," read The Aegis. Just a few days later, Sunday into Monday, another 8 inches fell, leaving roads closed, people homebound and snow removal crews working long hours.

The National Guard has 40 people working to help officials in Western Maryland cope with a snowstorm that has battered the region. Heavy snow and blizzard conditions have hit Garrett County, where officials have declared a state of emergency. National Guard Lt. Col. Charles Kohler says two Humvees and two other heavy trucks have been sent to the area. He says the vehicles will be used to help local emergency officials that may not be able to get through the snow. For instance, the trucks can take people to hospitals for medical care or take firefighters to places their vehicles can't reach.

Ethan Yankellow pondered the last time he saw snow in the Baltimore area at this time of year — and drew a blank. "I don't remember any time I saw snow in October, and I've lived here all my life," Yankellow, 42, said Saturday. The Reisterstown man was among many area residents who marveled at Saturday's wintry mix in autumn, as snow, sleet and rain combined to coat many secondary roads in the Baltimore area while leaving more than half a foot of snow in points west. Throughout the region, the precipitation made for hazardous travel conditions.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Marylanders will wake this morning to the most impassable streets since the 27-inch-deep snowstorm of 2003 -- and, if they have power, will learn that perhaps 100,000 households have not been as lucky. In a late afternoon news conference at the State Highway Administration operations center in Hanover, the governor said the overnight snowstorm was expected to be much heavier and wetter than the December snowstorm that dumped 20-22 inches of fluffy powder on the region.

In a delayed effect from Sunday's heavy snow, the walk-through marsh aviary of the Baltimore Zoo's Maryland Wilderness section collapsed and four ducks took advantage of ripped netting to fly the coop -- at least temporarily.None of the 37 birds occupying the open-air exhibit was hurt, but the collapse discovered by keepers Monday morning caused thousands of dollars in damage that will force the closing of the aviary, probably until April, said Brian A. Rutledge, the zoo director.The collapse, he said, was caused by temperature changes that first began melting the snow and then caused it to freeze over the net openings.

The three-day Presidents Day weekend storm in Maryland had its origins in a Pacific rainstorm that soaked the Los Angeles area with torrential rains, then crossed the country and collided with stubborn arctic air entrenched across the Northeast. Its legacy will likely be the biggest snowstorm in Baltimore in more than seven years, weather experts said, with total accumulations that might rival some of the deepest snowfalls in the city's history. "I would say we're destined here for the top five, and we've got a good shot at the top three," said Todd Miner, a meteorologist with Penn State Weather Communications.

Penn National, Rosecroft and Charles Town canceled last night's racing cards because of severe winter weather and heavy snow.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. workers were to leave today for Philadelphia to help restore power to thousands of homes and businesses that lost service in yesterday's storm, which left up to 10 inches of wet, heavy snow in the Pensylvania city. Brenda Pettigrew, a BGE spokeswoman, said the workers will assist Philadelphia Electric Co. crews. Pettigrew said 35 BGE repair trucks with two-man crews and about 20 support and supervisory personnel will gather today at 6:30 a.m. at Maryland House Restaurant on Interstate 95 in Aberdeen and form a convoy to Philadelphia.

Here's Rodney Boyette of Annapolis: "As we approach that time of year when we hopefully will hear snow in the forecast, please explain the difference between `snow showers' and `snow flurries.'" Hopefully? You must be a teacher. The National Weather Service defines a snow flurry as an "intermittent snowfall of short duration" with no measureable accumulation. A snow shower is "a short duration of light to moderate snowfall." Accumulations are "possible." A heavy snow shower with sudden, strong winds is a snow "squall."

Did C-Mart announce a clearance sale on natural disasters? Somebody obviously did, because Wednesday evening the region got socked by a snowstorm that provided twice as much commuter paralysis for half as much precipitation as either of last year's "snowmaggedons. " For those who woke up Thursday without power and wishing bodily injury to all those TV weather people who failed to accurately forecast Wednesday's especially inconvenient thunder-snow event, just be grateful that you didn't spend the night on the Jones Falls Expressway or the side of some other road.

The National Guard has 40 people working to help officials in Western Maryland cope with a snowstorm that has battered the region. Heavy snow and blizzard conditions have hit Garrett County, where officials have declared a state of emergency. National Guard Lt. Col. Charles Kohler says two Humvees and two other heavy trucks have been sent to the area. He says the vehicles will be used to help local emergency officials that may not be able to get through the snow. For instance, the trucks can take people to hospitals for medical care or take firefighters to places their vehicles can't reach.

The winter storm headed for the Northeast early today could bring the city 3 to 7 more inches of snow, capping a winter in which a few more inches hardly seems to matter anymore. But this one will be different from the earlier storms - in fact, it's one of the most complicated and unusual winter systems seen in quite a while. Maryland remains mostly on the western fringes of the blast, which is expected to pound portions of New York and New England with heavy snow, tropical storm-force winds and flooding.

The twin winter storms this month not only clogged roads and shut down businesses, they caused unprecedented breakdowns of the equipment used to clear the snow. The deep, heavy snow decimated transmissions, mangled blades and snapped windshield wipers, causing nearly 1,500 maintenance issues for the city's 240 plows over a 10-day period, city officials said. "With snow that deep, you can't see what's underneath it," said Charles G. Krysiak, the head of fleet management for the city's General Services Department.

Since the snow and the Winter Olympics bring Canada to mind this week, and since folks have asked ... yes, we do get snows like this up north (and sometimes worse) -- but not very often, especially with accelerating climate change in the last few decades. The big differences I'm noticing between the Canadian and Baltimorean snow experiences are, first, the government's ability to deal with it; and second, citizen reactions. First, the government. We pay higher taxes in Canada, and most of us don't mind.

While most in the region were shoveling sidewalks and uncovering cars, Allen Born and his neighbors were launching snow off their roofs. They were worried that the wet and heavy 3 1/2- to 4-foot drifts would prove too much for their flat-roofed HarborView homes. State and local officials have had reports of roof collapses - with no major injuries - at a Baltimore church, a school and warehouse in Southern Maryland, and two Howard County barns. Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said Sunday that anyone with a flat roof ought to shovel off the snow without delay.

The last days of winter could bring Central Maryland its biggest snowstorm in a decade, with the first flakes falling tonight and continuing into Sunday, weather forecasters warned yesterday.How bad might it be?The customarily cautious Fred Davis, the area's chief meteorologist for the National Weather Service, does not use the word "blizzard" lightly -- but yesterday he went so far as to say that blizzard conditions are a possibility.In the Baltimore area, a blizzard -- defined as 35 mph winds, with blowing snow reducing visibility to 500 feet or less -- hasn't happened since Feb. 11, 1983, when the area was paralyzed by a near-record 22 inches of snow.

Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches is forecast for Central Maryland starting late tonight, continuing tomorrow and possibly lingering through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said yesterday.A winter storm approaching from the Deep South is expected to dump most of the snow south of Washington, where accumulations could reach 8 inches.The storm also will bring markedly colder weather to Central Maryland.Today's high in the Baltimore area probably won't get above 30, with tomorrow's top temperature in the mid-20s, the National Weather Service predicted.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Marylanders will wake up this morning to the most impassable streets since the 27-inch-deep snowstorm of 2003 - and, if they have power, will learn that perhaps 100,000 households do not. In a late-afternoon news conference at the State Highway Administration operations center in Hanover, the governor said the overnight snowstorm was expected to be much heavier and wetter than the December snowstorm that dumped up...