County gets set for snow

Friday, Feb. 5, 2010

The National Weather Service is not holding anything back when it describes the weekend that may lie ahead for Southern Maryland.

It has issued a winter storm watch that will be in effect from this afternoon to Saturday evening.

"This storm is likely to produce 12 or more inches of snow in the watch area … with a good chance of localized amounts over 20 inches," the service says on its Web site, www.weather.gov. "Plan for substantial disruptions to travel Friday afternoon through the weekend."

Disruptions have already begun in Calvert County. In anticipation of a storm that could compete with the snow accumulation of December, cancellations have been announced and local officials are getting ready.

In preparation for the storm, the county's Highway Maintenance Division has been repairing and maintaining equipment used after last weekend's snowfall and the December nor'easter.

The county began the winter with 1,500 tons of salt and has been replenishing it on a regular basis — 5,500 tons are on order, county spokesman Mark Volland said, adding that this winter's salt usage is "unprecedented." Calvert is competing for salt with localities up and down the Atlantic coast, which this winter has experienced far more snowfall than usual.

The county began planning positions for its contractors yesterday and pre-salted some roads based on forecasts. Heavy work was slated to begin this morning and will adjust as new forecasts come in. Staff have broken the county into 35 salting routes to account for its 15 salt trucks and the 20 additional it typically contracts, Volland said.

Highway maintenance personnel once again had all leave suspended, a common occurrence as of late. "These are folks that have been working pretty much a month without a break," Volland said. "This winter has been quite a challenge for them."

To help county crews out, Volland encouraged residents to stay off the roads before snow plows come through. The biggest challenge comes when drivers have packed the snow down, requiring plows to make multiple passes before clearing the road of snow. "The message is to stay off the roads unless if it's absolutely necessary," Volland said.

The county exceeded its budget for snow removal after the December blizzard, but the contingency fund that has since accounted for those expenses is in no danger of being exhausted, Volland said.

According to spokesman David Buck, "the State Highway Administration, based on its assessment of the National Weather Service forecasts, is preparing for an event that "has the potential to be the most significant storm we've yet seen this winter."

Beginning Thursday and continuing through this morning, the SHA is pre-treating major roads and highways, including Route 4, with salt-brine, Buck said. This treatment is intended to "delay the initial bonding of snow to the pavement," which will make plowing more efficient, he explained, "but it won't prevent the snow from covering the roads. This will probably be more of a plowing storm rather than a salting storm."

Buck stressed that it's unusual for the National Weather Service to issue a storm warning two days in advance. "They're predicting from 12 to 20 inches," he said. "It's a big storm — very impressive to look at [on weather radar.] The big question for us is how long we're going to be out there and how long it will take for us to clean it up."

Not surprisingly, Buck advised residents not to delay getting prepared.

"This isn't going to sneak up on us, it's been predicted," he said. "Pre-planning is the most prudent course of action. Assume that you may be inside for two or three days and get accomplished those things you need to do early — don't think you'll be able to do so on Saturday because that may not be possible."

For those who must be on the roads during the storm, he advised all motorists to take a "winter survival kit" with them in their vehicle. Items to include are blankets, jumper cables, a charged cell phone, food and water, he said.

"This has the potential to be a very dangerous situation."

Be ready for outages

The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative is advising residents to prepare in advance for any potential power outages. It is SMECO's policy to prioritize repairs that will restore power to the most people in the least amount of time, according to a press release. Transmission lines and substations are repaired first, followed by neighborhood distribution lines. Downed tap lines and individual service lines are given lowest priority.

A two minute video, "Preparing for a Power Outage" is available on SMECO's Web site, www.smeco.coop, to help residents get ready.

School system down to one snow day

According to Calvert County public schools spokesperson Gail Bennett, a total of five "snow days" are worked into the school calendar.

Thus far, four have been used, according to Bennett.

"If we don't use any more, what's currently the last day of school will [stay the same]," Bennett said, continuing that if the school system shuts down for more than one more day due to snow, days will be added to the end of the year in June.

While Bennett said the recent amount of school closings was not unprecedented, it is more than last year and years past.

She said that under no circumstances would spring break or other scheduled days off be eliminated.

"That's not what we've advertised," Bennett said.

Emergency personnel ready

Calvert County Sheriff's Office's Commander of Patrol Division Lt. Dave McDowell said deputies are always subject to call back on shifts, but working 12-hour shifts already, they don't schedule extra personnel for forecasted weather conditions.

"We don't anticipate manpower shortage," McDowell said. If needed, special shifts can be called in from the Special Operations Team, Community Action Team or K-9 Team, he said.

Being an all-volunteer force, the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department was gearing up early Thursday morning with Assistant Chief Chris D'Agostino saying, "We're already getting started to get prepared."

"We try to beef up our staff;" having 20 to 25 volunteers ready to go when a snowstorm is predicted, he said. They had a lessoned learned from the December snowstorm so they are getting chains out and putting them on apparatus, preparing themselves for deep snow coverage, D'Agostino said. A four-wheel drive vehicle made to go off-road will accompany an ambulance call if the snow calls for it, he said.

"We're working with [county] public safety and emergency management," he said.

Calvert Memorial Hospital needs to be fully staffed at all times so employees were also discussing storm preparations on Thursday morning and plan to have a command center set up today to make sure there will be adequate staffing in all areas all weekend, said hospital spokeswoman Kasia Sweeney. The hospital ensures that employees have a place to sleep if they are scheduled to work during snowstorms or that they have four-wheel drive transportation to and from work if needed, she said.

"At least we're practiced this year," Sweeney said.

The hospital does have several people on a list willing to provide transportation in a snowstorm, but they could always use more, she said.

Cancellations

The Haiti-relief concert, originally scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6, at Huntingtown High School, has been postponed until Saturday, March 6, Sgt . Larry Titus with the Maryland State Police said. The remaining details remain the same — the concert will be held at the high school from 4 to 7 p.m., with doors slated to open at 3 p.m.

Titus said he and the rest of the concert's organizers realize that by postponing the event a full month they run the risk of residents losing interest. However, it also presents the opportunity to raise even more money in the meantime.

"We just encourage people to keep the Haitians in mind," Titus said.

The Calvert County Chamber of Commerce Chocolover's Affair scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6, has been postponed and is rescheduled for Feb. 20, according to a notice from the chamber.

The event will be from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Annmarie Garden Arts Building.

"This decision was made as a result of inclement weather predictions for our area," the notice said.

The postponement does make it possible for those who did not have a reservation for Feb. 6 to make one for Feb. 20. To make a reservation, call the chamber at 410-535-2577. Reservations will be accepted until Feb. 12.

Businesses ready

Snow or no snow, some county businesses are still preparing to be open and ready.

"We are not your typical milk and bread grocery store, being a gourmet specialty market. We handle things a little differently than your typical store," said Joe Johnson, manager of Woodburn's Food Market in Solomons.

But even though, as Johnson said, people are not looking to have "fine dining or specialty foods" but rather get the bare essentials during a snow storm, the business is still prepared to be open for customers. It has arranged earlier deliveries from its suppliers, talked with employees who can make it in or arranged rides for those who might have some difficulty. Johnson said some Solomons hotels have been gracious enough to provide rooms at a discount rate for Woodburn's employees so they can be nearby to open the store the next morning.

"Our landlord is prepared to have the parking lot cleared," Johnson said. "Other than that, there is not much else to do but hope [the snowfall] doesn't come."

Staff writers Laura Buck, Carol Harvat, Carrie Lovejoy, Jeff Newman, Rob Perry and Bob Renneisen contributed to this report.

Help needed

People with four-wheel drive vehicles willing to drive essential personnel to work at the Calvert Memorial Hospital or Calvert County Nursing Center this weekend may call the hospital's command center at 410-414-4742 or the nursing center at 410-535-2300.

Get ready

The following is a list of steps customers can take to prepare for power interruptions, provided by Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative:

ï If someone in your household depends on electricity to operate life support systems, make plans for alternate sources of power or alternate lodging. Call SMECO's special needs information number: 1-866-524-9402. In addition, check with your local fire department, which may offer temporary shelter.

ï Stock nonperishable foods and keep a manual can opener handy. The ideal choices are foods that require no cooking, such as fruit, canned tuna, peanut butter, crackers, cereals, cereal bars, canned soup, and bread.

ï Do not stock your refrigerator or freezer with foods that may perish during a power outage.

ï If your water at home is supplied by a well, store extra water in clean jugs, bathtubs, or laundry tubs.

ï Make sure that you have a standard phone available. Cordless phones do not work without electricity. If you use a cell phone, an auto adapter may be needed to recharge your phone.

If your power goes out:

Call SMECO's Outage Hotline at 1-877-74-SMECO or 1-877-747-6326.

ï Turn off all the major appliances in your home, especially the heat pump. This will prevent damage to the appliances once the power is restored. Then, turn on appliances gradually so the electric demand does not jump suddenly.