Wednesday, January 26, 2011 – John Patti and National Weather Service

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for parts of the eastern shore and a Winter Storm Watch for a good portion of the Baltimore area from Wednesday morning through early Thursday morning.

The weather service says a mix of snow, sleet, and rain will hit the area starting Wednesday morning and continue into early Thursday morning. The mixed precipitation will change to snow by the Wednesday evening commute.

Accumulations of 3 to 6 inches can be expected by midnight Wednesday night.

Mixed precipitation will be falling during the Wednesday morning commute which could result in locally slick travel.

Heavy snow is expected Wednesday evening and last through about midnight.

Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are possible.

Accumulating snow will be falling by the end of the commute Wednesday evening. The snow should be over by the time the Thursday morning commute starts.

State Highway Administration crews have been out since about 2am and have been treating and plowing roadways where needed. Major roads are passable but many secondary and neighborhood streets are slippery.

BGE says it is concerned for the second part of this storm later Wednesday night. The precipitation is expected to be in the form of heavy wet snow which could mean an unusually high number of power outages. BGE customers should prepare before conditions get bad.

Stay with 1090AM WBAL for traffic and weather updates all day Wednesday.