Winter Storm in Maryland, January 25, 2000

The most intense winter storm since the Blizzard of 1996 buried the Maryland Eastern Shore on the 25th with around a foot of snow, wind gusts as strong as 50 mph and drifts as high as eight feet. The Maryland State Police declared a snow emergency at 3 a.m. EST on the 25th for the Maryland Eastern Shore, urging motorists to stay off the road. Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a state of emergency for the entire state at 930 a.m. EST that morning and extended it through Wednesday the 26th. Schools and government offices were closed on both the 25th and 26th. In Queen Annes and Kent Counties many schools were closed for the rest of the week (through Friday the 28th).The snow began with a vengeance between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. EST across the Eastern Shore. Snowfall rates of around 2 inches per hour were common during the first of couple hours during this storm. After 6 a.m. EST, as warmer air came in above the ground and the precipitation intensity slackened, the snow began mixing with sleet and freezing rain, especially toward the Delaware border. Precipitation fell as mainly snow throughout the event near the Chesapeake Bay. The highest accumulation, 20 inches, was reported in Rock Hall in Kent County. As colder air moved back into the Eastern Shore at all levels, the wintry mix changed to all snow again by 3 p.m,. EST. This coincided with another heavy band of snow that affected the Eastern Shore during the late afternoon and early evening on the 25th. The snow ended by 11 p.m. EST on the 25th. The heavy snow that fell during the predawn hours helped cut down on the number of accidents. In Queen Anne's County state police responded to 36 accidents, mostly vehicles sliding off the road. One motorist had to be rescued in Talbot County. Drifts reached as high as 8 feet in Queen Anne's County and 6 feet in Caroline County. Wind gusts reached 50 mph in Caroline County. Ice on the wires and the strong wind gusts caused about 3,700 Conectiv customers to lose power in Maryland and Delaware. The greatest outages on the Eastern Shore were in Centreville (Queen Annes County). The worst accidents occurred over the next two days (on the 26th and 27th) as more motorists were on the road and gusty northwest winds caused considerable blowing and drifting snow. Conditions were so bad on the 27th that the Maryland State Police urged drivers to stick only to the main roads as many secondary roads were becoming impassable. In Queen Annes County Greenville Road was closed. Drifts covered parts of U.S. 301 and Maryland State Routes 8, 213, 304 and 481. Drifts reached 8 feet on Maryland State Route 481. Total Accumulations included: in Cecil County 12 inches in Port Deposit and 9 inches in Elkton and Conowingo Dam; in Kent County 20 inches in Rock Hall and 10.5 inches in Millington; in Queen Annes County Church Hill 14 inches; in Talbot County 15 inches in Cordova, 13 inches in Easton and Royal Oak and 8.5 inches in St Michaels and in Caroline County 10 inches in Denton and 8 inches in Federalsburg. The low pressure system responsible for the winter storm began as a weak low pressure system on a stationary front in southern Texas on the 23rd. By the morning of the 24th, it was located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico near Apalachicola, Florida. Initial projections were for this storm system to stay far enough offshore for the heaviest precipitation to fall over the ocean and a more significant storm was expected on Wednesday the 26th. But, by Monday evening the 24th, it became apparent that the storm would not safely go out to sea. In fact, it was intensifying and hugging the South Atlantic Coast. By 7 a.m. EST on the 25th, it was about a 980 millibar low just northeast of Cape Hatteras. The storm's greatest intensification was over, but it moved northeast near the Atlantic Seaboard, instead of eastnortheast as was originally expected. At 7 p.m. EST, the storm was about a 975 millibar low located about 80 miles east of Long Beach Island, New Jersey. It proceeded to move northeast and weaken and at 7 a.m. EST on the 26th, it was a 988 millibar low just east of Portland Maine. This storm system pushed the cold front well offshore. The third low that did develop on Wednesday the 26th was too far offshore to affect the region other than reinforcing the preexisting cold northwest flow.