Storm

Editor: I would like to publicly thank the Bel Air Barnes & Noble bookstore for their role in recovering from hurricane Irene. I am writing this message on my mobile device from inside their store Sunday afternoon. I am using their free Wi-Fi service and one of their electrical outlets. And, for over an hour there were six others near me doing the same thing. Nearly every outlet in the store had somebody plugged in with a notebook, tablet, or a phone. So, thank you Barnes & Noble for supporting the wireless users of Bel Air during the power outage.

Swimmers should avoid contact with tidal and fresh water for 48 hours after a big rain storm this summer, warns the Chesapeake Bay Foundation . The precaution is suggested by state and county health departments, but foundation officials believe it's not widely known by the public. The foundation says runoff makes the water unsafe, and the large fish kills already seen this year could be a sign that poor water quality is arriving earlier than usual. “I'm amazed how few people know our water can be unhealthy for days after a storm.

Surviving the storm Here are some tips for coping with the impact and aftermath of a snowstorm like the one that slammed Baltimore and the surrounding area this weekend. If you must travel •Let someone know your timetable and your routes. •Stay on main roads. Avoid back-road shortcuts. •Carry a winter storm survival kit, including mobile phone, blankets, flashlight with extra batteries, food, water and a shovel. •If you get stranded, don't leave your vehicle.

The National Weather Service is calling for showers in the Baltimore area Monday, with thunderstorms possible in the afternoon, and a high temperature near 75 degrees. East winds between 6 and 8 miles per hour are expected. The chance of rainfall is 90 percent, and new rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch are forecast, with higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Showers are likely Monday night, with the possibility of thunderstorms before 2 a.m. It is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low temperature around 65 degrees and east winds around 7 miles per hour.

In his letter ridiculing the "Bible thumpers" who believe hurricanes and other natural disasters are punishments from God, Luther Starnes appears to promote a common but dangerous misconception when he writes that "attributing destruction and vengeance to an all-loving God could border on blasphemy" ("Angry deity or intense low-pressure system?" Sept. 4). Yes, God is love, and His grace and mercy are unfathomable.  But if you read the New Testament carefully, to say nothing of the Old Testament, it is abundantly clear that God's love is balanced by His justice, which leads at times to much "destruction and vengeance" on those who do evil.  In fact, God declares emphatically that His followers are not to take revenge on others but to "leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay' say the Lord.

Everyone should be encouraged to shop local once the snow is all clear. I own Cloverhill Yarn Shop in Catonsville, and we have had to close many days for these storms. This really hurts our business, and I would like to encourage people to consider that when they are back on the streets. There are also many small and local bakeries and restaurants that I am sure are hurting due to the storm. Jolene Mosley, Catonsville

A bout 75 people were at Federal Hill Park on Saturday afternoon, either for sledding or a snowball fight that was organized via Facebook and Twitter on Friday. A handful of people brought coffee, cans of beer or bottles of cheap wine. Someone brought a boom box, wrapped in a garbage bag, that provided music. One man was buried in the snow as if he were being covered by sand at a beach. Snow-goers used snow tubes, saucers and tops of garbage cans to sled down the hill; three inventive types even used blow-up air mattresses in lieu of sleds.

A snow day after all as schools close Updated 5:43 p.m. Several school systems in the Baltimore area will be closed Monday as the region continues to dig out from this weekend's snow storm. Public school systems in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties have announced cancellations, as have the systems in Kent, Montgomery and Prince George's counties. As of 5 p.m., Baltimore City schools officials had yet to decide whether to open Monday, and no public announcements had been made by school systems in Carroll or Howard counties.

The 63-year-old Annapolis man killed on his jet ski during Sunday's severe thunderstorm was electrocuted by a nearby lightning strike, police said Wednesday. Maryland Natural Resources Police released the preliminary cause of death for Warren Douglas Smith, and said a final autopsy is scheduled for next month. The accident occurred about half mile south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during the storm. Police said Smith, who was riding a jet ski prior to the accident, was caught in the storm.

Last week we experienced one of the most damaging winter storms in BGE's history, resulting in outages for more than 236,000 customers — about 65 percent more than during last year's back-to-back blizzards combined. This was due to a heavy, wet snow that brought down trees and large limbs onto power lines and other electric delivery equipment. We would like to extend thanks to all of our customers who reported outages rapidly and persevered with patience while service was being restored throughout Central Maryland.

Tropical Storm Alberto isn't expected to reach Maryland, but it should be a damp week nonetheless. In the Baltimore area, at least, it may not be damp enough to remedy developing drought conditions, though. A low-pressure system is expected to stall over the mid-Atlantic today through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Showers and thunderstorms could crop up along the Interstate 95 corridor today, but the chances for heaviest rain later in the week are southwest of us along the Shenandoah Valley, according to the weather service.

Parts of Maryland have a slim chance of experiencing tropical storm force winds later this week, according to the National Weather Service. Much of the southern half of the state and the Eastern Shore have a less than 10 percent chance of feeling the force of Tropical Storm Alberto, which formed Saturday off the coast of South Carolina. The coastal region around Ocean City has a slightly increased likelihood, between 10 and 20 percent, of experiencing sustained winds greater than 39 miles per hour.

Fans across the country lined up at video game retailers late last night to purchase copies of “Diablo III” for the PC and “Max Payne 3” for consoles in what has been a whirlwind 24 hours for gaming. With a combined 21-year absence since the “II/2” versions of “Diablo” and “Max Payne,” fans were eager to get a jump on the highly anticipated sequels. “Diablo III” players arrived home after installing their games to a variety of issues due to the game's overwhelming popularity.

A steady, cool wind swept across the track at the Fair Hill Training Center Friday as two trainers prepared colts to run in next Saturday's 137 th Preakness. Went the Day Well, the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby trained by Graham Motion, and Teeth of the Dog, trained by Michael Matz, went out early this morning. It was Went the Day Well's first trip to the track since running in Kentucky; he galloped a mile. “He looked good, did well,” Motion said. “I continue to be impressed with him.” Went the Day Well will continue jogging at Fair Hill until early next week, when he'll ship to Pimlico to get accustomed to the new surroundings.

If WrestleMania is the fiscal end of the WWE“season,” then Extreme Rules is the first PPV of the new year - it certainly felt that way, with seemingly several new wrinkles being tested out. In what can be described as a “perfect storm” of a stellar Chicago crowd, excellent matches with several clever finishes, refreshing commentary and WWE rarities including violence, blood and referee assault, WWE's Extreme Rules Pay Per View certainly delivered....

Tooling along on a Harley Sprint motorcycle in June 1972, Bob Miller alternated between taking main roads and riding alongside the railroad next to the swollen Patapsco River as he wove his way from Sykesville to Elkridge, filming scene after scene of destruction in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Agnes. As a lifelong resident of the area dubbed "The Hill," where homes sit high above the Patapsco and Historic Main Street in Ellicott City, Miller took the 25-mile trip out of curiosity and as a way to merge his two loves, motorcycle riding and amateur filmmaking.

We have read recently about outrage from customers and politicians regarding slow restoration of power to homes after bad weather. We have to say that our experience this week has been quite different. A tree fell across our power lines last Friday afternoon. By that night, Baltimore Gas and Electric and Baltimore County had cleared the street and made the power lines safe. The next day, the four downed poles were replaced. Twelve hours later, the power was restored. The next day, the phone and cable companies restored service.

The Obama administration has determined that Maryland suffered a disaster during the major snowstorm that hit in mid-December, making the state eligible for federal recovery aid. Because of the declaration, federal funding is to the state as well as local governments for emergency protective measures taken in the counties of Baltimore, Caroline, Cecil, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, and Queen Anne's, the White House said. Local governments spent roughly $7 million plowing and salting through the massive storm, and the state approached the limit of the $26 million it had budgeted for storm emergencies -- and that was before this month's twin dumpings.

In a legislative session marked by discord over taxes and gambling, lawmakers came together to pass three major bills aimed at boosting Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts. They failed to agree, however, on other environmental priorities - a bill to subsidize building wind turbines off Ocean City, and a measure requiring natural gas companies to pay for studying the impacts of drilling for energy in western Maryland. The General Assembly approved two bay billls that were priorities of the O'Malley administration bills, one doubling the 'flush fee' to pay for upgrading sewage treatment plants and another limiting rural development on septic systems.  A third late-moving bill pushed by environmentalists would require Baltimore city and nine suburban counties to levy local fees to pay for curbing polluted runoff from their streets and parking lots.

The odds were not in Washington's favor. Not only had No. 5 Dickinson tied the score at nine with 72 seconds left in regulation, but the host Red Devils also had momentum - and the crowd - on their side with an extra-man opportunity in overtime as junior attackman Matt Lewis served a one-minute penalty for slashing with just 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Shoremen killed the penalty and escaped with a 10-9 decision when junior attackman Bennett Cord converted a feed from freshman attackman Grant Hughes with 30 seconds left in overtime.