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One snowstorm down, another in the forecast for Harford

A mesmerizing snowman with a winning smile keeps watch of the yard of his home along East Broadway in Bel Air Monday afternoon.
A mesmerizing snowman with a winning smile keeps watch of the yard of his home along East Broadway in Bel Air Monday afternoon. (Matt Button / The Aegis)

The snow from the weekend still covers the ground but already county officials are looking ahead to the next round of winter weather.

ā€œWe’re gearing up because we understand there’s more on the way this week, so we’re already planning for that,ā€ said Cindy Mumby, a spokesperson for Harford County government. ā€œWe haven’t taken any action yet, but we may be doing pre-treatment, if the weather is feasible, on Thursday, but we won’t make decision until it gets closer.ā€

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That’s similar to what the county did last week as the weekend weather neared. The county treated emergency routes Thursday with a salt/brine combination then went back Friday and treated the other roads.

ā€œThe brine is a cost-effective measure because we use less salt and it allows you to pretreat several days in advance, as long as it doesn’t rain,ā€ Mumby said.

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Maryland State Highway has been using the brine pre-treatment for some time, she said.

On Friday, meteorologists were calling for a light snow and a few inches of accumulation Saturday night and Sunday morning. But by Saturday morning, it became clear a storm capable of dropping significantly more snow was materializing.

Harford maintains 1,200 miles of roads.

During the snow, plow crews began working at 4 p.m. Saturday. After they stopped briefly to rest overnight, they were out clearing roads until 7 p.m. Sunday. They were back at it again at 5 a.m. Monday plowing and salting before rush hour.

Schools in Harford County opened two hours late Monday, but a lot of districts in the region declared snow days.

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Few weather-related emergencies were reported over the weekend, she said.

ā€œI think we’re fortunate we didn’t receive reports of any serious accidents or injuries or serious risk to safety,ā€ Mumby said. ā€œFortunately it happened over the weekend when most of our citizens did not have had to go to work. And with the pre-treatment, we were able to lay down one layer of defense against the snow and able to go back through with our plows and clear the roads.ā€

The county provided updates on road and weather conditions throughout the weekend on Facebook, where one follower thanked the county for its efforts: ā€œThank you for already coming thru Jtowne! Hope your drivers stay safe!ā€

ā€œJust taking the time to say thank you goes a long way for these folks who are out in difficult conditions,ā€ Mumby said. ā€œIt is their job, they do a good job and they take pride in it. And we appreciate when citizens express thanks.ā€

They also appreciate when residents slow down when they are driving in bad weather.

ā€œFor your own sake, and the sake of everyone else on the road, please slow down when we have these winter conditions,ā€ she said.

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