Warning issued for damaging wind gusts today

Meteorologists warned of damaging wind gusts across Central Maryland today as cold air blows in from the northwest. Winds could gust up to 40-50 mph, and a steady 20-25 mph breeze is forecast otherwise, the National Weather Service said. A wind advisory is in effect across the Baltimore region from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. Temperatures are forecast to reach the upper 30s, but wind chills are expected to make it feel like the 20s throughout the day. A strong northwest flow is expected to develop as a center of high pressure moves into the eastern United States and low pressure shifts out of New England toward eastern Canada. Strong winds were reported Tuesday, with gusts of up to 36 mph at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. It took a court order for Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson to complete her last four days of work. After suing the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Thomson won reinstatement as NRPspokeswoman for four days before retiring this month. Judge Ellen Hollander ruled Nov. 2 for Thomson’s position to be restored after a two-day hearing at the District Court of Maryland in Baltimore. “I could have done my last days in a diminished role but I just couldn’t let it go,” Thomson said. “It was a great job and I found it something worth fighting for. I didn’t know what the outcome would be but I'm grateful it came out the way it did.” Thomson’s complaint filed last month claimed DNR Secretary Mark Belton violated her First Amendment rights when he demoted her after she called Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous an “a**clown” on her personal Facebook page. The agency’s spokesman, Stephen Schatz, denied Thomson was demoted when the complaint was