Since a mixture of freezing rain/sleet/snow is in store for Valentine's Day weekend this year, I felt it would be appropriate to travel back in time to the winter storm that impacted the region exactly 14 years ago.
The Mid-Atlantic was hit hard with a winter storm that strengthened off the southeast coast on February 12th, 2007. This storm system not only brought plowable snowfall to central Maryland BUT ice as well. The bulk of the deeper moisture moved through February 13th as the low-pressure system intensified off the coast.
Snow and sleet amounts ranged anywhere from 1-9" across Carroll, Baltimore, Howard, Harford, and Anne Arundel counties. It took crews a bit longer to treat the roads as some plows could not handle the thick layer of ice that developed. Up to .10-.30" of ice was recorded across the area with locally higher amounts in southern Maryland. The freezing rain created a thick coating of ice on trees and power lines, leading to over 100,000 power outages south and east of the metro. Schools were closed for about a week and multiple car accidents were reported as well.
Eventually the wintry precipitation diminished in the morning on February 14th, but many florists and restaurants took a big hit in Valentine's Day sales as road conditions were still quite treacherous.
#Staytuned for what's to come this weekend!
