More than 100 flights at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport were canceled, some schools and colleges announced Tuesday closures and the University of Maryland men’s basketball team left town early for its NCAA tournament debut — all in advance of a nor’easter expected to drop four to eight inches of snow in Baltimore and as much as a foot or more in suburbs to the north and west.
Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency beginning at 9 p.m. on Monday, which will allow the state to more quickly mobilize resources.
“Certainly it’s going to be, by far, the biggest storm of the year,” said Ray Martin, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
That’s not saying much in a winter that’s delivered less than an inch of snow so far. Still, a winter storm warning went into effect Monday evening and was expected to last until 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Forecasters expected low-pressure areas over Missouri and off the northern Florida coast to come together over the Mid-Atlantic overnight. A combination of polar air and Gulf of Mexico moisture was predicted to create a storm moving through Maryland and continuing northeast, bringing heavy snow from Pennsylvania to Maine and into eastern Canada.
Snowfall totals as high as 20 inches were expected in New York City, and the National Weather Service warned that blizzard conditions with wind gusts over 35 mph and low visibility would extend from the Philadelphia area to Maine. About 5,000 Tuesday flights within, into or out of the United States were already canceled late Monday, according to flightaware.com. Amtrak modified service up and down the Northeast Corridor.
Weather models Monday showed a range of possible outcomes for Baltimore and the Interstate 95 corridor, depending on where the line between snow and a wintry mix with sleet and rain set up overnight.
Hogan urged Marylanders to get prepared and stay safe. He said he didn’t anticipate having to declare a state of emergency but warned the storm could bring power outages and treacherous driving.
“Some people are sort of lulled into a false sense of security because we’ve had this great 70-degree weather and everybody thinks it’s springtime and we’re ready to put on the flip-flops and go barbecue in the backyard,” the governor said.
“This is a serious winter storm,” he said.
The University of Maryland, College Park, Towson University and McDaniel College in Westminster announced they would close Tuesday, as did public schools in Baltimore City and Carroll, Howard, Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties.
(For information about school delays and closings, go to bsun.md/snowday.)