Maryland goes from 80-degree weather to snow within 24 hours
From near 80-degree weather to severe storms and snow, Maryland saw it all within 24 hours.
Western Howard County was one of the areas hit hardest by strong storms on Wednesday night.
"Weather gonna be, what weather gonna be"
Darryl Payne and his team at LRW Traffic Control System were among the crews out Thursday morning assisting Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) and contractors with tree removal and power restoration.
Payne and his team came from Cockeysville to get the job done.
"You could ride around in Maryland and probably find four different weather patterns," Payne said, "The weather gonna be, what weather gonna be."
Other parts of the state saw a major weather whiplash. Parts of the region reported temperatures near 80 degrees on Wednesday afternoon, then fierce winds and strong storms hours later. The storms caused falling power lines and downed trees.
"A bunch of trees up and down, down in this area that, apparently, across the road that's cut up and laid on the side," Payne said.
Severe weather causes power outages
Cooksville, near Millers Mill and Cemetery Roads, was among the hardest hit areas in Howard County.
"There were a ton of lines down on the trees down, I actually got my kids out to my parents' house," Nate Tharp, a Howard County resident, told WJZ.
Tharp said he remembers the moment his power went out on Wednesday evening, around 7 p.m.
"I was going to give my son a bath — then I got a tornado warning, and we all rushed downstairs to the basement, and by the time we got to the basement, everything was blown, and in about two minutes, we were out of power," Tharp said.
Tharp briefly returned to his home Thursday afternoon to find a blanket of snow and crews removing a downed power line in his backyard, caused by the storms the night before.
"It's been an interesting 24 hours," said Tharp.
"I'll be glad when spring actually springs, because this is cold, I'm done with it," Payne said.
Schools impacted by weather
Some after-school activities were canceled, and buses were delayed in Howard County, according to messaging sent out to the school community.
"Due to several continued road closures, power outages, and the falling snow, we expect multiple delays this afternoon. Due to the volume of delays, individual bus-specific messages will not be sent out. Please be patient for buses to arrive home, and if your child uses a Zum bus, use the Zum parent app to track the bus's arrival instead of calling the school or the transportation office," the district said.
Some district schools and offices experienced intermittent power outages throughout the day, including Marriott's Ridge High School, which lost power for about 30 minutes during the school day. It has since been restored.
