(October 29, 2012 – 11:30 p.m.) -  From the Eastern Shore to Western Maryland, heavy winds and gusts, historic rainfall, high water, downed trees, power outages/dark signals and a blizzard in far western Maryland all hit the state all in one day. Despite the challenges, highway crews continue to respond to keep roads safe.  The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) has more than 1,200 people responding to the statewide storm.

SHA is monitoring conditions from the statewide operations near BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and crews continue responding across the entire State from Ocean City to Garrett County.  SHA encourages people to stay off the roads and not venture out exploring Tuesday morning following this historic storm.

“The reality is tomorrow is not going to make for better driving conditions and we will still need people to stay off the roads so that crews can clear drains, remove debris and trees and assess the damage,” said SHA Administrator Melinda B. Peters.  “We’ve seen too many single vehicle crashes where people run off the road after losing control driving too fast for conditions.”

In Western Maryland, visibility is extremely poor and snow is falling up to two inches an hour with current total accumulation in Keyser’s Ridge of seven inches.  SHA has I-68 west of Cumberland closed in directions, as well as MD 495, US 40 and MD 42, all as a result of blizzard conditions. There could be 12-24 inch snow accumulation in Western Maryland.   

“Conditions in Western Maryland are terrible right now,” added Ms. Peters. “There are drivers stopped on I-68 waiting while crews clear disabled vehicles.  Emergency responders cleared an incident earlier just to face the same challenge a few miles away.  We can’t say this any more clearly – do not drive tonight.  For those already out there, know we are doing our best to clear the problem.” 

SHA reports nearly 100 roads temporarily closed due to high water and tree or debris clearing, as well as approximately 80 known signals without power and impacted by the storm.  For the most up to date highway traffic information, call 511 or 1-855-GOMD511 or visit www.md511.org or www.traffic.maryland.gov.   When conditions return to normal and you resume driving, remember to use 511 safely – Maryland law prohibits hand-held mobile phone use and texting while driving. 

For Maryland Emergency Management Agency information, go to www.mema.state.md.us for the latest storm track and preparedness information. 

For more general - non storm specific information, follow SHA on Twitter @MDSHA and “like” us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/MarylandStateHighwayAdministration.