The National Weather Service shared precipitation onset times, showing that snow was likely to begin in Southern Virginia between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, before making its way through Northern Virginia to Washington, D.C., through 10 p.m.
Snow is expected to come down in the Baltimore area on Saturday between 10 p.m. and midnight. The region is expected to accumulate 3 to 5 inches of snow Saturday night, with another 5 to 8 inches on Sunday when it’s expected to be a mix of very cold temperatures with snow and possibly sleet, making traveling difficult and dangerous.
In anticipation of the storm, the Maryland Department of Emergency Management has raised its State Activation Level to “Full,” and staffed the State Emergency Operations Center through the weekend to respond to the inclement weather.
As for the latest precipitation onset times for Saturday night, officials encourage planning your travel accordingly.
The Baltimore City Health Department issued a Code Blue Extreme Cold Alert that will last through Tuesday. Residents are encouraged to stay indoors when possible, and should check ensure smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order.
Some area universities announced closures into the coming week, while many Central Maryland school districts have not. Baltimore and Harford County school systems announced Sunday closures of their facilities and canceled any scheduled activities. Meanwhile, Stevenson University is closed through Tuesday; Morgan State, Loyola University Maryland, Coppin State, University of Maryland, College Park will be closed on Monday.
No county school systems have issued closures next week because of the weather and could announce dismissals as late as early Monday morning. Montgomery County Schools already had a scheduled day off for Monday.
Almost 12,000 flights across the United States set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice.
Nearly 280 flights were canceled Saturday across the three major Baltimore-Washington regional airports, with the most cancellations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. BWI Marshall Airport had the fewest cancellations, more than 70, compared to just four nixed flights there on Friday.
Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40% of the U.S. population, are under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warned of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch (0.6 centimeters) of ice was reported in parts of southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.
According to the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, service on all Charm City Circulator routes was to shut down service at 10 p.m. Saturday. The department plans to resume circulator service at 12 p.m. Sunday but will “continue to monitor weather conditions and may modify service as needed.”
Racquel Bazos contributed to this report; the Associated Press and wire reports also contributed to this story.
Have a news tip? Contact Mathew Schumer at [email protected], 443-890-7423 and on X as @mmmschumer.
