Some Maryland schools delayed, closed Tuesday as temperatures reach single digits
BALTIMORE -- Harford and Howard County Public Schools are closed and several other Maryland schools are delayed on Tuesday, Jan. 21 due to bitter cold temperatures across the state.
- Anne Arundel County Public Schools (staff delayed two hours, students previously scheduled off)
- Baltimore City Public Schools (delayed two hours)
- Baltimore County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
- Carroll County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
- Cecil County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
- Frederick County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
- Prince George's County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
The following schools are delayed on Tuesday, Jan. 21:
WJZ will continue to update the list of school closings as they are reported. Find a full list of closures HERE.
Stay updated on the forecast with WJZ's First Alert Weather team.
Snowfall totals
On Sunday, Jan. 19, Maryland saw more snowfall. Communities like Dayton and Reisterstown saw between two and three inches, while Taneytown saw nearly five.
Dangerously cold temperatures
Monday's temperatures hovered just below the 20s, before dropping into the teens and single digits overnight. Northwest winds brought wind chills near or below zero across the region.
"[I wear] lots of layers," Baltimore resident Sheri Hunt said. "You gotta wear lots of layers."
Cathy Rosenbaum, who lives in Anne Arundel County, echoed her friend's advice.
"Warm boots [helps, too]. I'm from New England, so I know how to layer," Rosenbaum said.
Baltimore is under a Code Blue Extreme Cold Declaration through Thursday, Jan. 23. Other areas, like Howard County, are under cold weather advisories.
The Weinberg Housing and Resource Center, located at 620 Fallsway, will open as a warming center from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., and My Sister's Place, at 17 W. Franklin Street, will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Some residents were still out walking at the Inner Harbor Monday evening, including the Scherr family, who took their two dogs on a walk.
"We took him for a little longer walk than usual because it's his birthday, but just today. We braved the cold for this guy," Harrison and Emily Scherr explained. "It's pretty brutal. Yeah, it's frigid out right now."
Others were out running daily errands and said they needed to wear extra layers just to avoid the chill.
"Dress warmly, wear your mittens, cover your ears and head, and just move quickly," Baltimore resident Jody Lepore said. "This year seems to have more extremes and that's 2024 to 2025. The summer was extremely hot and the winter seems to be extremely cold and unrelenting."
When you are out, it's recommended to cover your head, wear several layers of light, loose clothing, and you should also wear a scarf and gloves.
If you find yourself shivering, swelling, or feeling numb: you could be at risk for hypothermia or frostbite.
The city has activated winter shelters, including warming shelters and overnight emergency shelters. You can find the full list here.
If you need help connecting with a shelter, you can call the Baltimore City Shelter Hotline at 443-984-9540.
Crews working to treat roadways
Crews with Baltimore's Department of Public Works and Department of Transportation have been working since the weekend to clear roads, as well as catch up on trash and recycle pickups.
Many were pleasantly surprised Monday to see roads were clear from Sunday's storms. Whether it was a main road or a side street, it was hard to find one crews missed.
"I think they've done a tremendous job. The sidewalks and the streets are clear," said Baltimore resident Robert Gunn. "It's very passable and I have no complaints."
While the roads are clear, water main breaks are still a high risk. Nearly 20 active breaks were listed Monday afternoon on DPW's broken water main map online.
Extra crews and emergency contractors are repairing them.
"We're gonna have double the crews that we [normally] have at any time before," DPW director Khalil Zaied said. "We have had, since the last event, 200 water main breaks."
Zaied recommends residents call 311 if they're still having trouble getting their trash or recycling picked up, or if their road isn't getting the attention it needs.
The State Highway Administration (SHA) said crews are using infrared weather systems mounted on the vehicles to get real-time data from the roads to better assess the treatment plan.
"When it gets really cold, we then have to resort to something called liquid magnesium, which we spray on the salt. Liquid magnesium, it's not bad for the environment, but its good until 20 below zero, so it can break any sort of ice pack that's out there," said Charlie Gischlar, Deputy Director of Communications for the SHA.
