Howard cancels school, evening activities for Tuesday because of snow

Howard County residents awoke Tuesday morning to a thick layer of snow on the ground after an overnight storm covered the region with up to 6 inches — the largest snowfall this season — according to the National Weather Service.

Public schools are closed for the day and evening activities have been canceled because of the wintry conditions. Howard Community College also canceled classes for the day, and all library branches closed as well.

Howard government offices opened at 10 a.m., according to the county's Facebook page, with liberal leave in effect for employees. Both the district and circuit courts are closed for the day. Federal offices in Washington are also closed.

Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland buses are running behind on all lines, with delays of up to two hours in some cases, county officials said. Commuters can call 1-800-270-9553 for updates. Metro has suspended its bus service until 10:30 a.m.

Throughout the county, curbside trash and recycling collections have been cancelled, officials said. Pick-up will run on an inclement weather sliding scale, meaning Tuesday collections will now be made on Wednesday, Wednesday collections will move to Thursday and so forth. The Alpha Ridge landfill is open.

The county's emergency control center began monitoring the storm Monday night, according to Howard press secretary Andy Barth.

The county had 100 workers on hand to operate the more than 80 pieces of equipment, including salt trucks and snow plows, throughout the evening, Barth said. The county is responsible for 3,546 roads, according to its Facebook page.

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The county has between 13,000 to 14,000 tons of salt at its disposal, which should be more than enough, he added.

In a video posted to Facebook Tuesday morning, Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman asked residents to "please have patience" as crews worked to clear the roads.

"The hardworking employees of Howard County are out there working on the roads," Kittleman said. "Give them time." He said he expects local roads will be cleared by the end of the afternoon.

In the meantime, Kittleman said, "if you don't have to be out on the roads, stay home; if you do have to be out there, be very, very careful."

He also urged residents to check in on their neighbors: "Use this time to show some random acts of kindness."

Howard cancels school, evening activities for Tuesday because of snow

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