New storm approaches as cleanup continues
BGE works to restore power to thousands still in dark from Friday’s nor’easter
Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. crews worked Tuesday to shorten the list of homes that remain without power after last week’s brutal nor’easter, but another overnight storm carrying the potential for rain and snow could hamper those efforts.
Officials said crews restored power to more than 5,000 customers in the Baltimore region during the day, leaving about 9,200 still in the dark as of late Tuesday. Utility officials said more than 376,000 customers had seen power return since Friday when the wind storm downed trees and snapped power lines.
“The remaining outages should be restored no later than tomorrow night,” Linda Foy, a spokeswoman for BGE, said Tuesday. “We are watching the approaching weather and prepared to respond if new outages occur.”
Rain began to fall lightly on workers about midday. The National Weather Service expected the rain to turn to a combination of rain and snow overnight in Baltimore when temperatures were forecast to drop from the mid-40s to around freezing. Aslushy mixture was expected in Baltimore by this morning, with larger accumulations of up to 5 inches or so predicted for the north near the Pennsylvania line during the day
Meteorologist James Lee said forecasting was complicated because the region was at the edge of the storm and other factors.
“Our best bet is 2 to 4 inches north of the city and more as you get closer to the Mason-Dixon line,” he said of the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania.
He said winds will pick up again this afternoon, though not nearly to speeds recorded during the nor’easter Friday or even over the weekend. Gusts could be closer to 20 to 30 miles per hour and continue through tonight — some areas Friday experienced winds near 70 mph.
State Highway Administration officials warned drivers to use caution, particularly on bridges and areas prone to freezing. They said they were tracking the storm and crews were pre-treating with salt brine in northern counties in anticipation of freezing surfaces, and were monitoring all the roads with plans to treat them as needed.
MARC was anticipating normal train service today on the Brunswick and Camden lines. The Penn Line was expected to operate normally between Baltimore and Washington but service could be affected north of Edgewood. Amtrak Northeast Regional and Acela Express services plan to operate on a modified schedule between Washington and Boston.
The fresh storm could complicate efforts to restore power in areas where the most people remain without power — Harford and Baltimore counties. Harford had more than 2,000 remaining without power Tuesday evening and Baltimore County reported more than 3,400, according to BGE.
The prospect of more harsh weather was unsettling to some wholive in areas north of the city and have been without electricity for days already. That included Michael Schwartzberg, a Pikesville resident who was forced to leave his unheated home with his wife, two teenage sons and dog.
He said the house had been without heat since Friday afternoon when a large tree fell on a utility pole, taking out electricity as well as access in and out of his neighborhood. The family toughed it out Friday night in hoodies and extra layers of blankets. But with no sign of crews to clear the tree or restore power, Schwartzberg headed to his in-laws’ house about five minutes away in the family car on a golf cart path.
He felt lucky to have some place warm to go with hospitable relatives. But he grew frustrated about a lack of information from BGE about what to expect. Efforts to reach the utility via phone and social media were getting unspecific responses. “We apologize that we cannot provide a more specific time frame for restoration, but we have confirmed that your location is on our list of escalated properties,” the response read.
“I understand they are overwhelmed and the logistics of the operation are large,” Schwartzberg said. “But we don’t live in a third world country, and 90-plus hours without power is inexcusable.”
Later in the day, Schwartzberg said several BGE trucks did show up in the neighborhood and began work.
Bob Heck said he was concerned that downed power lines in his Homeland neighborhood remained live, and a threat to residents. He said he’d not seen a truck or even an orange cone, which he said was an “egregious failure by BGE.”
Jeanie Ferretti, who works in constituent services for Del. Maggie McIntosh, said she’d been alerting BGEabout downed lines and residences without power to make sure they were all on BGE’s list.