Transportation officials tell Maryland drivers to be cautious during wintry weather
BALTIMORE -- With the possibility of some wintry weather coming towards Maryland, many of you may be wondering how will this affect your family's morning commute.
According to our First Alert Weather Team, an Ice Storm Warning goes into effect for the Western portions of Maryland Wednesday evening through late Thursday night.
Find local school closures and delays here.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the northern and central parts of the state.
Because of the potential for inclement weather, The State Highway Administration wants people to delay their commute and give the storm the chance to move through the region or turn over to rain.
An agency spokesperson said crews have already pre-treated roads with salt and brine, but even though they are ready to activate up to 2,700 pieces of equipment and the same number of drivers to operate the equipment, none of that is a match for the level of danger that accompanies an ice storm.
"I can't emphasize it enough that ice is a different type of animal than snow. Snow you clear it, you push it out, you treat it again and you can usually get on that. Ice is very, very slick and dangerous," said Charlie Gischlar, a spokesperson with the State Highway Administration. "So we really want people to really watch that morning commute and possibly and we're asking to delay your commute until it changes over to all rain."
Almost six years ago to the day, icy roads caused a catastrophic chain reaction crash on I-95 near Washington Boulevard.
Transportation officials said 67 vehicles and a semi were involved.
That truck went over a barrier and fell onto the road below.
At least two people died and dozens were hurt.
That's why the state is warning drivers about this potential ice storm.
Western Maryland is expected to get hit the hardest, but meteorologists say even a slight shift in the track could impact more areas in the Baltimore region.
"I'm not going anywhere tomorrow," said Bill Ryan, in Anne Arundel County. "I was going to drive up to Pennsylvania Thursday, but I'm going to go Friday."
The State Highway Administration says drivers can visit Roads.Maryland.gov for resources that will help commuters monitor road conditions and then track the most recent update for when crews treated a roadway.
