Gov. Martin O'Malley delivered a blunt message to Marylanders after the major snowstorm within five days dumped more than 20 inches of snow on parts of the Baltimore region: Don't expect a return to normalcy for days.

Maryland roads would continue to be "perilous" through Thursday, he said. And in a briefing at the state emergency response center, he defended local governments that have been besieged by complaints about unplowed or partially cleared streets -- while seeming to speak directly to those who have been griping.

"Stop already with the 'Scrape my street down to the pavement.' That cannot happen for the next 72 hours," he said.

Meanwhile, Thursday was shaping up as yet another day of closings and cancellations. All area public schools are closed, as are federal, state and local government offices. The General Assembly will run on an abbreviated schedule.

The latest storm vaulted the winter of 2009-10 into the record books as the snowiest on record in Maryland -- with more than 77 inches having fallen. and a month to go before spring arrives.

The region was paralyzed by heavy snow and high winds Wednesday -- winds topped 58 mph over part of the Chesapeake Bay, and 40 mph gusts were common across the region as the storm's center deepened and drifted slowly along the mid-Atlantic coast, forecasters said. For hours the storm stalled over Maryland, and on the weather map its contours seemed to have molded themselves to the state's southern border as it followed the course of the Potomac.

The howling winds, swirling snow and plummeting visibility that drove plow drivers off the highways at times were driven by an intensifying offshore low-pressure system that meteorologists are likening to a hurricane.

"They have hurricane-force wind warnings up for that sector of the ocean, so for all intents and purposes, it's a ... Category 1 hurricane," said meteorologist Bryan Jackson at the National Weather Service's forecast office in Sterling, Va.

Asked to compare this storm with the 24.8-inch blizzard on Friday and Saturday, Jackson said the weekend storm carried more moisture. "That's why places will hit two feet [of snow] with this one, where they were getting two-and-a-half to close to three feet" over the weekend.

But "this one was certainly windier," he said, adding, "These are the most hazardous conditions of the winter, and it's been a very hazardous winter."

Conditions were treacherous enough that about midday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake put Phase III of the city's snow emergency plan into effect -- ordering all non-emergency vehicles off the roads. In Harford County, a similar order was issued.

The Maryland Transit Administration began Wednesday trying to keep local bus, light rail and Metro subway service running. But by noon, the MTA had suspended everything but service on the underground part of the Metro from Mondawmin Mall to Johns Hopkins Hospital. There was no word when service to buses, light rail and above-ground Metro might resume, but Thursday's MARC service and commuter buses were canceled.

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was snowed in most of the day and no commercial flights took off or landed. But one runway was cleared in late afternoon and one United Parcel Service cargo flight took off. State Transportation Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley said it would be up to the airlines when to resume flights, but she noted that few planes were at BWI because the airlines flew them out before the storm.

O'Malley said state and local officials were concentrating their efforts on making one or two lanes on roads passable so that Humvees and ambulances can get in to deal with emergencies. But, he added, in many cases the best road crews can do is tamp down the snow into hard packs that can be navigated only slowly.

Keeping those roads open was a struggle overnight because the one-two punch of the twin storms was followed by a kick in the form of gale force winds that pushed the snow into drifts that spilled back onto recently plowed roadways. State highway officials said Wednesday's conditions were even more difficult than those during the height of the previous storm on Saturday.

Through most of Wednesday, traffic was light as most Marylanders heeded warnings to stay off the highways – earning thanks from O'Malley for clearing the way for snow plows. But those that did venture out became involved in an estimated 700 crashes by late afternoon – including some the governor describes as "doozies."

In one of them, two tractor-trailers jackknifed about 2 p.m. on southbound Interstate 95 between routes 198 and 212 in Prince George's County – leading to a series of collisions involving two more trucks and six passenger vehicles. There were no serious injuries, but the resulting mess took more than three hours to remove as traffic was detoured.

If there was one bright spot in the snowy fiasco, it was that traffic fatalities were non-existent. Officials said that as of last evening Maryland, which on an average week records up to a dozen deaths due to traffic accidents, hadn't had a highway fatality since the first storm blew in six days ago.

"So far, knock on wood, we haven't lost a single life," O'Malley said.

But for patients in their last months of life, Wednesday's nasty storm dealt many hurdles. On Tuesday, nine home hospice patients with Gilchrist Hospice Care had to be transported to the organization's in-patient center in Towson, because they either lost power at their homes or were too ill not to receive a nurse home visit during the storm, said Regina Bodnar, director of clinical services for Gilchrist.

Nurses were able to make only sporadic visits Wednesday morning.

"Earlier, when we needed to be out, we were out, but strictly for emergency situations," Bodnar said. "We know we are in a state of emergency. We are working to manage everything we can over the telephone."

Other Marylanders struggled to cope with the property damage caused by the storms, whose heavy snows brought down many trees and limbs and piled more weight on roofs than they were intended to bear.

The roof of the fellowship hall of Calvary Chapel Worship Center in Severn collapsed Wednesday afternoon, most likely from the weight of the snow, Anne Arundel County fire officials said.

There were no injuries. No one was inside, said Battalion Chief Steve Thompson.

The collapse was called in at 1:33 p.m. by someone who lives nearby, he said. It was not immediately clear if this was the entire roof or a section, he said.

It was second roof in the county to collapse Wednesday. Shortly before 10 a.m., the roof of a garage collapsed from the weight of the snow.

"We have a school in there," said Pastor Shawn Murphy, who said the congregation and school families are blessed that no one was inside. "We did have a couple of classrooms in there, and I'm told that two of our classrooms collapsed also."

The structure, a large hall of about 60 feet by 100 feet, is a multipurpose area, and is home to the church's 90-student school, Calvary Chapel Christian Academy, which run from kindergarten through 12th grade, he said. Students eat lunch in the fellowship hall, he said.

Because school is closed due to snow through Friday and closed on Monday for President's Day, school and church officials have several days to make contingency plans for the school, the Rev. Murphy said.

Many area supermarkets were closed Wednesday because of the storm. Outside the Safeway in Canton, would-be customers trudged through driving snow only to find the doors locked.

"I don't have a Plan B," said a disappointed Vince Brulinski, who lives in Pennsylvania but is staying in Canton with a colleague from DAP Products Inc. He had hoped to buy lunch.

Selections were thin at grocery stores that remained open. At midday the Super Fresh in downtown Baltimore did not have a loaf of bread left, and both the dairy and produce sections were depleted. Still, a steady stream of customers bought what they could.

One grocery that did remain open was the Giant in the Owen Brown Village Center in Columbia.

Roommates Maria Lonardo-Ray, 25 and Rebecca Laremont, 30, said they walked to the store more from boredom than anything else. "We've been stuck in the house for days," Laremont said. A third person who shares their town house -- a nurse -- is stuck at work, though, they said, which is worse.

Lonardo-Ray had a giant onion in her basket, something to enhance the pork chops she had defrosting at home. The weather didn't bother her. "I'm from Massachusetts. I'm in love with this kind of weather," she said. Not so Laremont, who said she is a law student with too much time for studying.

"I'm from Texas. I've never seen anything like this." She said. Even the liquor store is closed." Indeed, none of the other stores in the Owen Brown Village Center appeared open, and even the Giant's bakery, fish, delicatessen and pharmacy departments weren't operating. Only the self-serve check-out stands were working, with one employee to help. Some shelves were down to the last few items.

But many younger Marylanders had few complaints.

At Hopewell Pointe, a Middle River community, teenagers Joe Lazzaro and Chris Winks spent much of the day building an igloo that was about 5 feet high and 14 feet wide.

"It's tall enough for us to sit in," said Lazzaro, 15. "We need to make it bigger so we can play cards in there."

At the Starbucks in Charles Village, which had managed to stay open during the worst of Saturday's storm and did healthy business, a notice was affixed to the glass door Wednesday. "Don't blame me, blame the weather man," it said. The note went on to explain that the cafe had closed at 10 a.m. and would not reopen "until weather and road conditions are appropriate for travel."

Then, in a more hopeful tone, the note predicted the place would open at 7 a.m. Thursday: "See you then!"

A note on another door had more immediate news. "We're open!" said the missive at the Charles Village Pub. But there was a caveat: "Until we run out of food, alcohol, staff, or patience."

Inside, Amanda Coyle, one of the managers, explained that "someone has to feed the neighborhood," and that the warning on the door was only reasonable, given the logistical challenges posed by the storm, which has presented businesses with nightmarish obstacles to basic deliveries.

"We're trying to do what we can do," she said, "and until we run out of food that's what we're going to keep on doing."

At Tamber's restaurant on St. Paul Street, owner Harkesh Sharma went to all the trouble of opening the place at 9 a.m. and by noon had only had one customer. Six of his staff waited around for something to do. But it was all right by him.

"We open no matter what," Sharma said, mentioning the usually lively clientele of Johns Hopkins University students and staff from the hospital. "Every storm, we're open."

As he spoke, two people came in and sat down, shaking off the snow, discarding hats and gloves. It would get better later in the day, Sharma said, as students got around to thinking about food and deciding they had none at home.

A trip to the diner would be the easy option, he said, no matter how strong the storm.

"They'll be here," he said. "They always are."

Baltimore Sun reporters Mary Gail Hare, Larry Carson, Andrea Siegel, Kelly Brewington and Scott Calvert contributed to this article.