Maryland and Northern Delaware Hit Hard by Weekend Winter Storm

A winter storm that came from the south hit the Mid-Atlantic region during the early morning hours of Saturday December 19, 2009 through the wee hours of Sunday morning. In my town of Elkton, MD the snowfall began a little after midnight Saturday with the streets covered in snow as early as two o'clock in the morning. By daylight the residents of the state of Maryland learned that Governor Martin O'Malley issued a state of emergency for the entire state. Maryland State Troopers strongly urged us to remain off the roads.

Around nine o'clock in the morning, East High Street in Elkton, was completely covered in snow, cars were buried, walkways covered and the snow continued to fall. By three in the afternoon Delaware's Governor, Jack Markell, issued a state of emergency for New Castle and Kent Counties, the northernmost counties in the state. This resulted in the Christiana Mall closing at three o'clock leaving some shoppers annoyed, according to the numerous Facebook status updates I've read from friends.

Residents of Cecil County Maryland and New Castle Delaware were fascinated and dismayed by the snow. As my friend Shay Rayne 33, of Wilmington, Delaware put on her Facebook page, "It is still snowing! Guess it's a movie night... (sigh)" This seemed to the sentiment of many who were stuck inside while the snow continued to pile up throughout the day and evening. As party night and last minute weekend shopping were thwarted.

Weekend events were cancelled due to the snow along with local Sunday church services. My own Pastor, Bernice Givens, advised me Saturday afternoon that our church, Victory In Praise Fellowship Church, would not have morning service and that the children's Christmas presentation will be the following Sunday, December 27, 2009. Elkton's United Methodist Church also cancelled service and spent most of Sunday morning and early afternoon removing snow from their parking lot.

Philadelphia Airport cancelled a majority of their Saturday flights. This morning many people trying to figure out if their flight will be rescheduled and when. Shay Rayne had a flight for South Caroline Saturday that was postponed, "first it was postponed until today [Sunday] and now I don't know what is going on. The event I was going to is over now anyway so now I need to find out if I can use this ticket for a later date."

Delaware lifted the state of emergency for New Castle and Kent Counties at noon Sunday. Delaware police are still urging people to stay off the roads because secondary roads have yet to be plowed. Maryland's state of emergency was only in effect for Saturday however a state workers and volunteers are still busy clearing the streets Sunday.

Sunday afternoon the sun is shining intensely as its rays are reflected off the snow that is almost 20 inches high in my backyard. My neighbors on East High made out pretty lucky as our relatives came by to begin shoveling our cars out and our walkways. Doris Bias, 52, of Elkton, MD admits, "I don't know if I could have cleared this walkway out myself. The snow is so high and heavy! Though I will be putting some more salt down so nothing freezes up today."

The wind has been moderate causing minimal snow drifting from the rooftops of houses and buildings today. "I told my landlord yesterday that we were lucky. We have not gotten any bad storms in a good ten years, not like I used to see when I was growing up.", explained Ms. Bias.

Indeed the Mid-Atlantic region has been fortunate for the last few winters, as this storm was nothing compared to the storms that hit the Midwest on a regular basis each winter. Elkton was lucky with most areas around town receiving under two feet of snow. This writer is thankful she can finally walk out of her door and see the beauty of the snow in the bright sunshine. It's a beautiful day.

SOURCES

Bias, D. (2009, December 20). Elkton, Maryland Resident. (S. Pierce, Interviewer)

CBS 3. (2009, December 19). Delaware Declares State of Emergency for 2 Counties. Retrieved December 20, 2009, from CBS 3: http://cbs3.com/local/Delaware.Jack.Markell.2.1380363.html

My Fox Philly. (2009, December 20). DE State of Emergency is Lifted. Retrieved December 20, 2009, from My Fox Philly: http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/de-state-of-emergency-is-lifted

Pierce, S. (2009, December 19). State of Maryland and New Castle County Delaware under State of Emergency. Retrieved December 20, 2009, from Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-31530-New-Castle--Cecil-County-Examiner~y2009m12d19-State-of-Maryland-and-New-Castle-County-Delaware-under-State-of-Emergency

Rayne, S. (2009, December 20). Pre-Certification Clerk. (S. Pierce, Interviewer)

WBALTV. (2009, December 19). Snowstorm Slams Maryland, Leads to State of Emergency. Retrieved December 20, 2009, from WBALTV: http://www.wbaltv.com/weather/22004289/detail.html