Overnight snow that switched to freezing rain coated much of the Baltimore area Tuesday, prompting most public school systems to cancel classes and making the morning commute treacherous.
The precipitation was already moving out of the area just after 6 a.m., said Howard Silverman, senior meteorologist in the National Weather Service's Sterling, Va., office.
"We had a fair amount of snow during overnight hours," he said. "It has finally changed over to freezing rain."
Silverman said the rain was expected to move out "certainly by noon" from Howard County, Baltimore City and points north to the state line. A winter storm warning was in effect until that time, and a winter weather advisory was in effect for areas south of that region, where precipitation could end by about 9 a.m.
"Additional accumulations would be minimal," Silverman added.
On the roads, westbound lanes of Interstate 70 have reopened at Route 27 in Mount Airy, though eastbound traffic was still being diverted due to a jackknifed tractor-trailer, according to Maryland State Police. One person in a second vehicle involved in the crash was taken to Howard County General Hospital for evaluation, police said.
Temperatures were expected to reach above freezing Tuesday, although not until 9 or 10 a.m. for Anne Arundel County and areas south and until midday for the city and areas north, according to Silverman.
Some 600 Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers were without power about 6:30 a.m., according to the utility's website. More than 1,500 outages had been restored since the storm began.
Public schools in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Montgomery counties were closed for the day, as were Baltimore City schools. liz.kay@baltsun.com