Harford County motorists had to deal with slick and icy roads during their Monday morning commutes, and they could have a similar experience Wednesday, with the potential for snow and sleet.
Forecasters in the Baltimore-Washington office of the National Weather Service, which is in Sterling, Va., were watching a low-pressure system that was over Alabama Tuesday afternoon. They anticipated the system could move through the Southeast and be in a position to drop snow over Maryland by Wednesday morning.
Meteorologist Andy Woodcock said he expects "somewhere between nothing and an inch" to fall on Harford County between 7 and 8 a.m., if the conditions are right.
"The question is, will it intensify close to the coastline, or will it be far enough offshore so the snow that's associated with it stay over Delmarva [Peninsula] and the ocean?" Woodcock said.
The National Weather Service issued an Hazardous Weather Outlook Tuesday for counties in Western and Central Maryland, the Washington, D.C., suburbs, northern and central Virginia and parts of West Virginia, according to the NWS website.
The forecast for Wednesday showed a 30 percent chance of snow and sleet during the day, with a high temperature of 29 degrees.
The Maryland State Highway Administration also issued an alert in advance of the "wintry mix" of snow and freezing rain expected for the morning commute. The SHA's road crews also pre-treated roads and interstate highways with a salt brine solution.
"While roads were generally in good condition earlier this week, a difference of only one or two degrees is the difference between wet roads and hazardous icy roads," SHA Administrator Melinda B. Peters stated. "Please take these forecasts and warnings seriously and consider delaying or canceling your travel and appointments while we take care of making the roads safe for travel."
Harford County Public Schools officials delayed the start of the school day, and later closed schools Monday because of the icy conditions left by freezing rain that began falling Sunday night.
Harford County sheriff's deputies were busy handling seven vehicle crashes between midnight and noon that day. Four of them happened within a 16-minute period at Hookers Mill Road and Bynum Overlook Drive in Abingdon, sheriff's office spokeswoman Cristie Kahler said.
"Ice was a contributing factor," she said of the Hookers Mill Road crashes, which happened between 10:19 a.m. and 10:35 a.m.
She encouraged drivers to allow extra time to get to their destinations and to leave enough distance between their vehicles and those ahead of them to stop safely. Kahler also said drivers should also make sure ice and snow are cleared from their vehicles "so they have good visibility and other motorists can see them as well."
"Stay off the roads if at all possible," Kahler said.