A winter storm shut down much of the Baltimore area Monday, closing schools and workplaces, grounding flights and icing roadways. For many, the snowfall merely extended the holiday season, however, with a day off to head for the nearest hill to sled or the coziest corner to cocoon.
After eight straight winters of below-normal snowfall, Maryland was struck by a storm that traveled east from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic. By midafternoon Monday, snow accumulation totals ranged from 7 inches in Annapolis, almost6 inches at Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport an just over 2 inches in Westminster — with another round of snow expected later in the evening.
Snow was generally heaviest in southern and eastern parts of the state, with the National Weather Service reporting accumulations in parts of Calvert County of 10 or more inches by Monday afternoon.
School districts including Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard and Montgomery counties, as well as Baltimore City announced their schools would remain closed on Tuesday.