It usually takes Robin Eshkenazi 40 minutes to get to work downtown from her home in Reisterstown. But 31/2 hours into her trip Tuesday, she gave up.
It only took a couple of inches for the winter's first significant snowfall for Tuesday morning's rush hour to reach gridlock, with hundreds of accidents frustrating drivers and parents of schoolchildren.
"Today was probably the worst I've ever seen it," said Eshkenazi, 27, of her attempted commute, a five-hour ordeal. "There were cars that were stuck going up little hills on the highway, completely abandoned cars. It was crazy."
Tuesday's snow swept in ahead of several days of dangerous cold with temperatures forecast to top out Wednesday and Thursday in the 20s and zero-degree wind chills overnight, prompting calls to shelter homeless populations and keep tabs on the elderly and vulnerable. Roads may remain slick as the snow melts under sunny skies, then refreezes.
About two inches of snow fell across most of the region, the most since last March but still far less than it should take to cause such disruption, many drivers said. Highway officials blamed the timing of the snow, which started falling steadily onto frigid pavement just as nine-to-fivers crowded roadways, slowing down plows.
The dry, powdery snow began falling before daybreak, as forecasters had predicted. But though accumulations were light, pavement was covered, with temperatures down in the lower 20s through midday.
"We said it would hit at rush hour, and that's when it hit," said Andy Woodcock, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Baltimore/Washington forecast office. "But unfortunately, that's when everyone went out on the roads at the same time."
State Highway Administration officials said cleanup efforts were slowed by traffic and fender-benders clogging the roadways. Crashes, abandoned vehicles and other hazards were widespread, with more than 140 accidents reported in Anne Arundel County alone by 10 a.m., county police said. Interstate 695 was closed briefly near Curtis Bay because a snowplow flipped onto its side, dumping salt across the roadway.
An employee of the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company was killed while responding to a call in the Emmorton area. The weather was likely a major factor in his death, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association.
At least three Anne Arundel teenagers were injured on county roadways. The county's schools and Baltimore City's were the only public systems around the region to open on time, drawing a torrent of criticism from parents on social media.
Drivers also expressed frustration when poor road conditions multiplied the length of their commutes, with traffic on the Jones Falls Expressway crawling for much of the day.
"With no traffic it's an eight-mile trip and you can just swing through," said Joel Richmond, 62, of his trip from Mount Washington to his office downtown, which took nearly two hours Tuesday. "But it was just bumper to bumper."
The JFX was pre-treated but was difficult to plow, State Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar said. Because large portions of it are elevated, it freezes faster than other roads, and multiple vehicle spin-outs on Tuesday morning contributed to the massive delays.
The traffic was "all about the timing of this storm," Gischlar said.
It's not the first time a relatively tame storm has brought traffic to a standstill. Four years ago, a storm that brought a mix of snow and rain that turned icy just in time for the evening commute left thousands stranded in their cars across the Baltimore and Washington areas.
Snowfall totals were close to forecasters' predictions of an inch or two, but in some areas surpassed it by a couple of inches. Reports the National Weather Service received included 4.1 inches in Severn, 3.1 inches in Essex, 3.3 inches near Westminster and 2.5 inches in Bel Air.
Temperatures were a few degrees colder than expected both on the ground and about 5,000 feet in the air, a key snow-making zone in the atmosphere, said Rich Foot, founder of the meteorology website Foot's Forecast. Colder temperatures can increase snow accumulations by making the snow less dense.
"That's the danger of underestimating a clipper," said Foot, using the name for such storms that sweep through quickly from the west. "When you have tiny differences in temperature and moisture, it generates a huge result at the surface."
With the snowy low-pressure system out to sea, even colder air is moving in Wednesday and Thursday. Highs are forecast in only the upper 20s Wednesday and the lower 20s Thursday, with lows in the teens or possibly even single digits in between. With 20 mph winds and gusts up to 40 mph expected Wednesday into Thursday morning, it could feel like zero degrees overnight.
Baltimore City health officials have declared a "Code Blue" advisory for Wednesday and Thursday, urging homeless people to seek shelter and residents to keep tabs on elderly neighbors and relatives.
Baltimore Sun Media Group reporter Erika Butler contributed to this article.
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