Local Schools, Businesses, Governments Close as Harford Digs Out from Blizzard

From Harford County government:

Good Evening this is Emergency Manager Rick Ayers. Our Harford County crews have been on the road all day today concentrating their efforts on reopening the County’s Emergency and Primary routes. Some areas of the county received more than 30 inches of snow overall in this historic blizzard. Please remember two things: 1) There are 1,000+ miles of County roadways and over 1,200 cul-de-sacs. As of now, approximately 52 percent of the roads have had one pass from a snow plow. And it will take at least two full days to get to them all 2) Please understand that driveways will get plowed in, which is an unavoidable consequence of moving snow off the roads. We apologize in advance and appreciate your understanding. Please call 911 for emergencies only. Thanks & Be Safe

From the City of Havre de Grace:

Citizens of Havre de Grace,

The Blizzard of 2016 has dumped more snow on our city than any other storm in recorded history. With that said, I have had the opportunity to drive around our city and witness first hand just how great our citizenry is handling this adversity. As I predicted, I saw friends helping friends, neighbors helping neighbors, and in general, folks using smart judgment and staying off the roads as much as possible.

Just a few notes as we head into the clean-up phase:

– We have 98% of the roads passable and drivable at the time of this post.

– Our first priority is to make sure that all roads are passable. We will then concentrate on widening of roads and expansion of intersections.

– Once all roads are squared away, plow crews will begin removing snow from the business district no later than Monday morning.

– City Code mandates that citizens are responsible for clearing sidewalks. With that said, I ask that you do your best. I understand that you may have 6 foot snow drifts on your sidewalks and I do not want to see anyone hurt themselves trying to remove the snow. I will not have citations written in regards to this storm. However, please know that when school starts up again, children will be walking on the streets if they cannot use the sidewalks. Please do your best and use your judgment.

-Finally, I would like to commend the men and women of the Havre de Grace Public Works Department for their around the clock efforts to keep our roads passable. They have been at it since Friday night. They will continue working Sunday until 6:00pm. I am sending them home to rest and they will be back at it Monday morning early.

Again, the citizens of Havre de Grace have exhibited once again that we handle adversity like a champ. Working together, we will get through this as we always do.

Be safe,
William T. Martin
Mayor

From the Aberdeen Police Department:

Good evening! We just spoke to the Department of Public Works Director, Kyle Torster.

According to Mr. Torster, most roads should be passable this evening. Obviously there are sections of the city that are really good and others that are very poor. At this time there is no time estimate on clean-up. DPW worked 16 hours today and the employee are on a break at this time. DPW will resume snow removal around 2:00 a.m., Monday morning, and continue working. The main roads are open. DPW will be working on secondary roads. This was a big storm and their equipment is not equipped to handle these types of storms. It will take DPW a little while to get through it.

DPW understands residents are shoveling their driveways and sidewalks, however with a storm of this magnitude one should expect that snow may be pushed up against it. DPW realizes and understands the frustration that this causes. DPW just does not have anywhere to push or put the snow.

DPW has assisted the police and fire department on several calls for service. DPW is asking our citizens to be patient and cooperative. Thank you

From the Town of Bel Air:

Storm Jonas update from the Town of Bel Air and Mayor Susan Burdette

The aftermath of Storm Jonas will continue to adversely impact Harford County. The ferocity and impact of the storm will remain for at least several days in forms gusty winds, drifting snow, hazardous roadways and slippery walkways. The storm has achieved an onerous ranking of being a “Top 5” worse snow storm in Harford County, according to County Executive Barry Glassman.

Mr. Stephen Kline the Director of Department of Public Works has indicated that 99% of the town roadways will be cleared by 5:00 pm today. DPW and the Police Department have remained on-duty throughout the storm event keeping our town safe. Thank you for your patience and support during this challenging event. Town employees will continue to work around the clock in restorative efforts.

From Harford County government:

The Harford County Highway Crews worked extremely hard throughout the storm yesterday and, by 11:00 last evening, they had made at least one pass on 75% of the County roads. Unfortunately, the back end of the storm last evening with its high winds and heavy snow impacted a lot of that work.

The crews are getting back on the road now and will be concentrating their efforts on reopening the County’s Emergency and Primary routes. Please remember two things: 1) There are 1,000+ miles of County roadways and over 1,200 cul-de-sacs. It will take quite a while to get all of this area clear. 2) Please understand that driveways will get plowed in, which is an unavoidable consequence of moving snow off the roads. We apologize in advance and appreciate your understanding.

From the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association:

Yesterday Jan 23rd (calculated to 8pm) there were 257 emergency calls for service, 150 were fire calls for service and 107 were for emergency medical services in Harford County.

There has been numerous medical calls, possibly related or exaggerated to snow removal. Please, take plenty of breaks when shoveling. Do not push your back or heart too much, leading to a serious back injury or a serious/life threatening cardiac issue.

Also, dehydration can happen!! Drink plenty of water and sports drinks during your breaks. You may only be sweating a little bit, and signs of dehydration are harder to feel/see during the winter months until it is too late!!

Avoid coffee and sodas during your shoveling/snow removal. They are diuretics which cause you to become dehydrated quicker.

From Harford County government:

Harford County Government Offices Closed Monday, Jan. 25, 2016

Due to the impact of the weekend blizzard, Harford County government offices will be closed on Monday, January 25, 2016.

From Harford County Public Schools:

Harford County Public Schools will be CLOSED tomorrow, Monday, January 25, 2016, Code GREEN. Essential personnel should not report, but should await further instructions.

From the Town of Bel Air:

Town of Bel Air Government offices will be closed on Monday Jan. 25th. Essential personnel only to report.

From Aberdeen Proving Ground:

APG CLOSED Monday, January 25, 2016:

Over the last three days, APG has endured a record setting 29 inches of snow and sustained high winds producing significant snowdrifts up to and in excess of 4 feet. With the storm behind us, our work crews are aggressively conducting recovery and snow clearance operations. Based on our destructive weather group’s analysis of APG and the surrounding counties, the projected workload presents significant challenges. To restore APG for normal operations, the Senior Commander, Maj. Gen. Bruce T Crawford, has ordered the continued closure of the installation until 0500hrs on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, except for key and essential civilian personnel.

Commanders should direct military personnel according to mission. Where unsafe conditions exist for these personnel to travel, unscheduled leave would be authorized. Commanders have the discretion to adjust work schedules for their employees as well. The Installation team will continue to monitor the recovery operations and provide regular updates should conditions and circumstances change that would require me to alter this decision.

The Conditions in our surrounding counties are experiencing similar challenges. Harford County has announced a government closure for Monday, January, 25 , along with the school districts of Harford, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Howard counties. Fort Belvoir and Fort Detrick have also made the call to close on Monday.

While the DPW Snow Removal Crews are doing a great job, they need the additional freedom to focus more time on the priority and secondary roads as well as parking lots in order to ensure the safety of the workforce when they do return to work. We expect the priority one roads and parking lots will be cleared to the blacktop by 2100 hours tonight. We anticipate our priority 2 roads and parking lots to be cleared to the blacktop by 2100 hours Monday night, and our priority three roads and parking lots cleared by 2100 Tuesday. Additionally, there are facility entrances that remain blocked by the blowing snow. We expect our DPW crews will need to assist building custodians with that clearance effort.

From the Humane Society of Harford County:

PLEASE HELP US – JONAS HAS US IN HIS GRIP!

Don’t panic…the animals are all fed, warm and cozy thanks to three staff members who have been here since Friday.

But now we are in need of help with shoveling out the dog runs and clearing pathways to our dumpster and auxiliary buildings. Feel free to come any time this afternoon and please bring your own shovel and a snow blower if you have one! This would be a great way to earn some community service hours for school!

If you can’t get out here to help, please consider making a donation to help us offset the extraordinary expenses associated with the storm…

– plowing and salting costs

– additional utility costs due to extra space heaters being used to keep the animals warm (as our 100+ year old building is drafty and the heat is iffy at best)

– extra loads of laundry so that everyone can have plenty of clean and warm bedding

– we also need to buy a new snowblower as ours decided to kick the bucket.

And of course, we may find other structural and water damage once the snow starts to melt. Every bit helps!

From the Maryland State Highway Administration:

STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES SNOW REMOVAL FROM HISTORIC MARYLAND WINTER STORM

This weekend’s record-setting recent snow storm continues to bring monumental challenges for road crews, producing more than 30 inches of snow for most part of Maryland.

“Our hard-working crews worked through the storm to keep roads passable and are now working to clear more lanes, ramps and intersections,” stated SHA Administrator Gregory C. Johnson, P.E. “We appreciate that many people have refrained from travel, allowing our crews to work. The amount of snow we have to clear is equivalent to 80 million cubic yards, which would fill 35-foot dump trucks lined up almost twice around the world.”

The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) and Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) crews will continue plowing and salting operations. Working in partnership with local emergency responders, law enforcement, and the Maryland National Guard, SHA emergency patrols continue to assist motorists with disabled vehicles. SHA emergency responders assisted 525 disabled vehicles and more than 120 crashes this weekend.

The Maryland Department of Transportation maintains most interstate (e.g. I-95), US (e.g. US 301) and State-numbered routes (e.g. MD 26) and its eight toll facilities. As storm cleanup continues, Marylanders are reminded to remain alert for reduced travel lanes from snow pack on the pavement. In addition, please stay alert for highway and construction equipment – plow trucks, loaders, and other storm response vehicles that are located in travel lanes. These vehicles will enter and exit at area interchanges, intersections and merge areas. Information on weather-related emergency lane closures is available via the Coordinated Highway Action Response Team (CHART) website – www.chart.md.gov. For traffic information log onto www.MD511.org

From the Town of Bel Air:

Modified Refuse Collection Schedule

Due to this weekend’s Blizzard, the Town of Bel Air’s regular schedule for trash, recycling and bulk will be as follows:

If your trash is scheduled to be collected on Monday, it will be picked up on Thursday, January 28, 2016.

If your trash is scheduled to be collected on Tuesday, it will be picked up on Friday, January 29, 2016.

There will be NO BULK this week in Homestead (section 4) and Howard Park (section 3) areas. Those sections will now be rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb 10, 2016.

Recycling will not be picked up for residents this week.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Town of Bel Air Public Works will continue snow clean up in the days to follow. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience.

Photo courtesy of the Aberdeen Police Department