Driven by an Arctic cold front, the wind blew in with a vengeance yesterday, bringing down trees, sparking brush fires and leaving thousands without power.
Just days ago, the high reached 73 degrees, a warm memory compared with today's expected low of 18.
Gusts exceeded 60 mph yesterday throughout parts of Maryland and in the Baltimore metro area, said Calvin Meadows, a meteorologist technician for the National Weather Service at Sterling, Va.
While yesterday hit a high of 47, today is expected to reach 32 degrees and be far less windy than yesterday, when gusts took a toll.
In Baltimore and in four surrounding counties, nearly 20,000 customers were without power by the early evening. Of that number, 8,000 were in Anne Arundel County, 6,000 in Baltimore County, 2,000 in Baltimore City, 2,000 in Howard County and 800 in Harford County.
Crews were expected to be working overnight to restore power, said Linda Foy, a BGE spokeswoman.
The weather didn't make things any easier for crews trying to complete their work.
"After crews restore power to one area during the wind event, they go to another area and restore power there," Foy said. "Then the crews often have to return to the original area and restore power there all over again."
The dry conditions contributed to at least two brush fires caused by falling electrical wires that sent sparks flying.
In Baltimore County, wind-blown overhead electrical wires fell in an isolated area off the 7900 block of Dogwood Road in Woodlawn shortly after 3 p.m. and set aflame 2 acres of dry brush, a county Fire Department official said. The fire took about three hours to bring under control.
In Anne Arundel County, winds brought down high-voltage lines near Severna Park High School, causing a brush fire that was fanned by high winds, said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county Fire Department spokesman.
No buildings were threatened and no injuries were reported, Fennell said.
Capt. Harry Steiner, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel Police Department, said officers were busy throughout the day responding to reports of branches and trees fallen in roads or on power lines. He said no injuries had been reported.
Baltimore firefighters responded to more than 30 wind-related calls, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a Fire Department spokesman. Most of the calls - for things such as arcing wires and minor wind damage - were in the northwest and northeast portions of the city, he said. No injuries were reported.
In the Pimlico neighborhood, a tree narrowly missed hitting the back of a house in the 3900 block of W. Garrison Ave.
In the 6100 block of Benhurst Road, a tree fell on power lines and did minor damage to a house. There were no injuries in either incident. Broken tree branches snaked out of garbage cans placed curbside. Other residents gathered debris into piles on curbs.
Nearby, in the 800 block of Clover Road, a tree blocked the road, forcing drivers to make U-turns. Two BGE crews used the headlights of their trucks to provide illumination while they worked to restore power in the block.
In East Baltimore, a tree blocked the intersection of Sinclair Lane and Denview Way, causing police to detour traffic before city forestry crews cut it up and hauled it way.
In Charles Village, a tree was reported down at St. Paul Street and University Parkway.
Baltimore police reported that numerous traffic signals were out, causing many close calls between vehicles.
While not a hazard, the wind posed an additional challenge for runners and volunteers at the Operation Iceberg Series run yesterday afternoon at the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center in Columbia.
"It was quite an experience," said Len Guralnick, director of the informal weekly races put on by the Howard County Striders. Yesterday's event drew about 80 runners.
At the finish line, the timing clock came crashing down, he said.
"It was just shocking that the wind took it down," Guralnick said. "I've never seen that before."
Although the runners who show up this time of year are a hardy sort, they finished the races - ranging from 2 to 6.2 to 9.3 miles - with complaints about the wind, Guralnick said. But "the volunteers were the ones really suffering" as they stood in the wind and cold for hours, he said.
Meanwhile, by yesterday evening, many owners of area tree services say they had not received substantial calls for uprooted trees or fallen branches. But they said those numbers could rise by today, if gusty weather continues.
Kate Holcomb, owner of Castlewood Tree Services in Baltimore, said her company got a couple of calls, but without leaves on trees - as is the case this time of year - the debris that litters lawns and streets is substantially less.
brent.jones@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Gus Sentementes contributed to this article.