Potomac River

The National Weather Service is calling for Tuesday to be mostly sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 52 and northwest winds 10 to 15 miles per hour. A small craft advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. for the Maryland Chesapeake Bay and tidal Potomac River. The small craft advisory continues until 1 p.m. for Maryland waters south of Sandy Point and the lower tidal Potomac River. Another small craft advisory is in effect for Maryland waters south of Sandy Point and the lower tidal Potomac River from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Envision escaping to a secluded island destination where even your iPhone doesn't roam. Paradise. Images of idyllic, uninhabited beaches and authentic local fare instantly flood your brain. Then you start thinking about long flights, passports and pricey accommodations, and the idea quickly flees your mind. Wait — come back! Did you know that there are exotic islands just off the coast of Maryland? Yes, really. We've uncovered three remote retreats, all within a three-hour drive from Baltimore, where you can unplug, recharge, and, blessedly, not know a soul.

The Potomac River, which flows between Maryland and Virginia, was named the nation's "most endangered" waterway today by a Washington-based environmental group. American Rivers put the Potomac atop its annual list of endangered rivers.  Though cleaner than it used to be, the "nation's river," so named because it flows through Washington, D.C., still faces threats from urban and agricultural pollution, the group says, and from cutbacks being pushed in Congress of federal environmental regulations.

SHOWSJan. 1-3: 16th Annual Chesapeake Sportfishing Show at the National Guard Armory on Hudson Street in Annapolis. Tackle sales, bass guides, clubs, charter captains from the mid-Atlantic region, seminars on freshwater, tidal and offshore fishing. Show opens at 6 p.m. Jan. 1 and 10 a.m. Jan. 2-3. Admission is $5 for 12 and over; 12 and under admitted free. Call (410) 841-6974.Jan. 8-10: Bass Expo '93 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. Displays of bass fishing equipment, boats and gear.

WESTERNPORT -- The same thunderstorms that devastated parts of north-central Virginia with flooding this week have caused $1.7 million in damage to this small town along the Potomac River's north branch.About 200 homes and three businesses in Westernport, an old coal-mining town of about 2,500 people tucked along the edge of a mountain in southwestern Allegany County, sustained damage ranging from basement flooding to fallen walls and washed-out foundations, said Dick Long, assistant director of Allegany County Emergency Management.

The National Weather Service is calling for Tuesday to be sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 68 degrees and northwest winds of 6 to 11 miles per hour. A small craft advisory is in effect Tuesday morning for the Maryland Chesapeake Bay and lower tidal Potomac River. A small craft advisory is in effect Tuesday night for the Maryland Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Smith Point and for the lower tidal Potomac River. Tuesday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low around 53 and southwest winds of 3 to 9 miles per hour.

The Maryland Department of the Environment fined two Allegany County companies yesterday for violating water-quality standards in the Potomac River basin, the state announced. After the department filed a complaint in Allegany County Circuit Court, the Upper Potomac River Commission was fined $360,000. The commission treats industrial and municipal waste. Westvaco Corp., which operates a paper mill in the region, was fined $90,000. Neither company admitted wrongdoing. As part of the agreement, the Department of the Environment also required the river commission to complete upgrades to its plant by Nov. 1 and to be in compliance with state water-quality standards by April 30, 2002.