54 years ago today, Marylanders woke up to temperatures much different than we've been seeing the last few weeks. The morning start with temperatures at 4° in Baltimore, but most areas outside of the city were below zero. Winds periodically gusted above 50 mph, creating wind chills that were 10-20° below zero. White out conditions made travel nearly impossible. Snow continued to roll into the area for almost three days. Most of the state was blanketed with at least a foot of snow.
By the time the event was over, just over a foot of snow blanketed the city of Baltimore. In Hagerstown, a previous storm had already deposited a foot of snow on the ground, and this system added an additional 15 inches and some drifts as high as 20 feet. Washington, DC, also recovering from a snow storm recieved an additional 14 inches of snow bringing the total snow on the ground to 20 inches. No other local area recieved the thumping that was dished to Easton-- where 25 inches were recorded by February 2nd.
Once the snow event was over, gusty winds and drifting snow continued to keep roads closed for several days bringing most operations in the area to a halt. Both BWI and Reagan National Airport were closed for nearly three days.
This January.... was not so eventful. Temperatures remained above the seasonal average for over 75% of the month. If you're a snow lover-- the snow totals were underwhelming also, with Baltimore only receiving about 22% of the average January snowfall.
