Bad weather to the west? Carroll County crews have you covered

WESTMINSTER, MD - Forecasters say the further west you go in the Baltimore area, the worse weather you're going to find.  But people who live in Carroll County shouldn’t be worried about getting the snow cleared in their area.  Crews from the county’s Bureau of Roads are geared up and ready.

Crews in Carroll County spent Tuesday afternoon gearing up to attack the wintry weather.  63 trucks were supplied with salt and drivers were sent home to sleep.  According to Bruce Lockard, Bureau Chief of Roads in Carroll County, crews will be working 16 hour shifts starting just after midnight.

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Carroll County crews have 900 miles of road to cover when they’re out plowing, according to Lockard.  That doesn’t include seven municipalities, which handle their own snow operations and interstates, which are plowed and salted by the State Highway Administration.

Lockard says the lack of on-the-road experience in recent years won’t be a problem for his snow plow operators, because many of them have worked for more than a decade with the agency.  Although, he says, many wish they could fast-forward right to spring, "It's all part of the job.  I've been doing this for 30 plus years so retirement might be good, where I could just sit at home and watch it snow."

Crews did some pre-treating today in Carroll County, but Lockard says it was only on a small section of roads, about 30 miles.  The effort was made as part of a county pilot program.

Notable March snowstorms (click for current conditions)
• March 1, 2009 BWI had a seasonal total of 3.3 inches at the end of Feb., then was hit with 4.7 inches total inches on March 1-2. The amount of snow was a record for the date. • Superstorm of '93 It's the most famous storm in recent history -- a storm that brought a range of 1-3 feet of the white stuff to central Maryland and record low pressure to BWI. Other than the big storm, it was a quiet winter season. The storm doubled the seasonal amount in the area, and the storm ranked 5th on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale. The storm sent snow to areas from Florida to Maine. • Ash Wednesday 1962 Falling 51 years ago on March 6-8. The storm dropped a daily record of 10 inches on Baltimore’s BWI on March 6. The storm also brougth 60 mph winds and 25 ft waves hitting Ocean City. • Palm Sunday Blizzard of 1942 The storm holds the rank as the sixth all time big snow storm in the history of the Baltimore area, dating back to 1880. It dropped more than 20 inches of snow across five counties. The first day of the storm broke the all time inch count for a snow storm in March.
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