Harford roads quiet Wednesday morning before heavy snow starts

Rush hour around the busy intersection of Routes 543 and 22 on Wednesday morning wasn’t what it usually is on any other weekday.

Few cars were on the roads and those that were out driving around were either four-wheel drive or snow plows.

Schools were closed, county offices shut down along with state offices — much like the rest of the state. Harford is hunkered down for what could be the biggest snow storm of the year so far.

On the first full day of spring, snow is expected to continue through midnight, with up to 3 to 5 inches by the storm’s end. Harford is under a winter storm warning until 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Snow totals from the National Weather Service show 9 inches of snow in Norrisville and 6.2 inches in Bel Air.

Steve Greene, who lives in Pennsylvania, and Matt Ross, of Edgewood, work for the Town of Bel Air. Grabbing a cup of coffee at Wawa in Fountain Green around 8 a.m., they said they had been on duty since about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday when they were called in to start salting.

They slept at the DPW shop off Route 22 for a while overnight, but were back out in the truck around 5 a.m.

“There’s a little bit of ice,” Greene said.

“It’s not really that bad,” added Ross. “We’ve mainly been able to keep it off with salt.”

They’ll be working, or taking breaks at the shop, until this storm blows over, which may not be until late Wednesday night. Even once the snow stops, they’ll still have snow removal to catch up with.

“We’ll be out until it’s done,” Ross said.

Greene said he’s ready for spring.

“You know what they say about Maryland weather…,” Ross said. “I think this will be it for the year.”

“I hope so,” added Greene.

In the Fountain Glen community off Route 543, Robert and Terry Ferguson were outside shoveling their driveway and sidewalks.

“We’re getting the ice off before the snow comes so it’s easier to get the snow off,” Robert Ferguson said.

The couple has an electric snowblower that will work fine on the snow, but won’t be able to get through the ice, he said.

Terry Ferguson, a special education at Edgewood High School, said she didn’t mind a day off school Wednesday.

She’s planning to spend the day making Easter chocolates.

“I told him, ‘We’re off, I’m making chocolate,’” Terry Ferguson said.

She’s been making non-pariels, chocolate covered peanuts, bunnies on a stick and a variety of other chocolates for Easter since her children were young. They’re in their 30s now, and she still makes them Easter baskets filled with her homemade chocolates.

She also makes them for family and friends. Wednesday was going to be a good day to get ahead for Easter.