A massive winter storm blanketed the Mid-Atlantic region on February 5 and February 6, dumping more than two feet of snow on the Baltimore-Washington area.
Snow accumulated at an estimated rate of two inches per hour over Friday night into Saturday morning, bringing travel through most of the area to a near-standstill. The Baltimore Sun reported that Elkridge, Md. had 32 inches of snow on the ground on the morning of February 6, while Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport reported 26.5 inches of snow on the ground.
W-USA 9 news in Washington, D.C. reported totals of 22 inches in Arlington, Va., 28 inches in Laurel, Md., and 27 inches in Damascus.
At the storm’s height, Maryland officials contemplated taking drastic measures, including banning all travel on area roads, but did not elect to do so.
“There’s always the option of closing down the roads all together,” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told The Washington Post on February 6. “As a practical matter, that’s pretty hard to enforce because we have so many miles of border shared with other states, so unless they do it, too, it won’t work.”
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority cut service for above-ground subway stations and Metrobus service on the night of February 5 through at least the next day. The Maryland Transit Authority also suspended service for buses and light rail.
The storm has also wreaked havoc on power companies, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of customers in the region.