Winter Storm in Maryland, February 16 to 17, 2003

The most powerful storm to affect the Eastern Shore since the Blizzard of 1996 struck during the President's Day Weekend. Snow began falling before dawn on Sunday the 16th and fell heavy at times through that evening. Precipitation began mixing with sleet from the evening of the 16th into the morning of the 17th. Sleet was the predominant precipitation type overnight in southern sections of the Eastern Shore. Precipitation changed to all snow again during the morning of the 17th before ending during the afternoon. Governor Robert Ehrlich declared a state of emergency on the 16th and also issued an executive order banning travel. The state of emergency made state resources available to local officials. The state of emergency was not lifted until February 23rd. The state also asked volunteers with four wheel drive vehicles to help hospital and other essential personnel get to and from work. County emergency management and sheriffs assisted. The National Guard also provided the counties with several Humvees. The heavy snow led to numerous barn and several business roof collapses. Many schools were closed the whole week. Many had already used their allotment of snow days. It cost the state about 55 million dollars for snow removal. President Bush declared 17 counties in Maryland (all of the Eastern Shore) a disaster area because of the heavy snow and sleet. This made federal money available to the state and counties to help with recovery operations. Even before this storm, many municipalities were above their snow removal budgets. Businesses and government offices were closed on both Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th. Some opened on Tuesday the 18th. The timing of the storm (holiday weekend) kept the number of accidents and rescues down. Roof collapses caused most of the property damage across the Eastern Shore. In Cecil County, there were scattered incidents of roof collapses throughout the county. Drifts reached four feet. A mobile home in Elkton was condemned because of its roof collapse. A church's roof buckled in Port Deposit. Schools were closed all week. In Kent County, in Worton one barn collapse killed one cow and injured others. In Rock Hall, a florist lost two greenhouses. Elsewhere, a section of a roof of a furniture store collapsed. Canopies that covered the slips at the Yacht Basin collapsed and damaged two boats. County offices were closed through the 18th and schools did not reopen until Friday the 21st. In Queen Anne's County, in Matapeake, a section of the old Chesapeake Bay Model building fell. About 20 percent (20,000 square feet) of the roof collapsed in the southeast corner. On Kent Island, a roof collapse at a boating store damaged three boats. In Wye Mills, the roofs of two cannery buildings collapsed. Stores in the Kent Island Shopping center were closed because of sagging roofs. In Millington, a barn roof collapse necessitated the rescue of about a dozen cows. The Bay Bridge Airport reopened on the 20th and schools reopened on the 21st. In Caroline County, problems with snow drifts kept many back roads blocked through the 18th. Government offices did not reopen until the 19th and schools were closed all week. In Talbot County, schools reopened on the 19th. Easton Airport reopened on the 18th after being closed since the 15th. Specific accumulations included 26.0 inches in Colora (Cecil County), 25.0 inches in Centreville (Queen Anne's County), 23.0 inches in Port Deposit (Cecil County), 22.5 inches in Chestertown (Kent County), 22.0 inches in Galena (Kent County), 20.0 inches in Denton (Caroline County), 19.0 inches in Saint Michaels (Talbot County) and 15.0 inches in Royal Oak (Talbot County). The low pressure system which helped cause the heavy snow formed to the lee of the southern Rockies on the 14th. It moved to southern Missouri by the morning of the 15th, the lower Tennessee Valley the morning of the 16th, reformed off the Virginia coast the morning of the 17th and was southeast of Cape Cod on the 18th. Of equal or greater importance was a large high pressure system that moved over nearby Canada and northern New England throughout this event. This locked very cold air in place, slowed the low pressure system down and prevented it from going farther north thus leaving the Eastern Shore on the snowier side of the system. Warm air did move in aloft between 5,000 and 10,000 feet and was the reason the snow changed to sleet during the evening and overnight on the 16th.