By Lauren Maiden and Grace Hebron
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
It may be mild and sunny today, but the Baltimore region received up to five inches of snow Wednesday, closing schools, creating flight delays and giving some people a day off from work.
A Code Blue Extreme Cold declaration was made for Tuesday through Wednesday night by Baltimore City Interim Health Commissioner Mary Beth Haller. Haller urged residents to remain indoors and check on neighbors and pets who may be vulnerable to cold temperatures, stressing that “…extreme winter weather can permanently injure, or even kill.”
Students at Towson University seemed to heed the warning, with many staying inside. Those who ventured out walked to and from their buildings on slushy grounds.
“It’s a snow day so a lot of people don’t want to leave their rooms,” said Towson senior Gracie Danso, who works as a Community Center Assistant at the university’s Carroll Hall.
Towson Junior Briana Richert spent most of her snow day eating pizza, watching YouTube videos and finishing school work.
“I was happy that I could get more work done, and not have to walk outside in the snow,” she said. On Wednesday, Richert was hoping for a two-hour delay for next morning, which she did not get.
Across Baltimore County, roads were deserted as many chose to stay inside.
But not high school teacher Ben Saeli, who used his day off to renovate his family’s Towson row home and stepped outside to clear his neighbors’ vehicles of snow.
Saeli, who was raised on his family’s farm in Upstate NY, has weathered storms worse than this one.
“In Baltimore, it takes two inches of snow to close county schools,” the 10th-grade biology teacher said. “Where I’m from, near Syracuse, it takes two feet.”
Saeli bikes to work at Overlea High School and takes his days off where he can get them, even if the amount of snow seems laughable to him.
“These are the only days in my life that I wake up and have a completely free day,” Saeli said. “Every other day of my life I have a schedule and there’s at least some idea of what I’m going to do.”
Saeli’s 8-year-old son, Stephen, spent the snow sledding with his brother on the nearby hill at Towson High School.
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) had over 150 flight delays and 230 flight cancellations Wednesday night.
WBAL reported 365 active public-school delays and closings, including Baltimore County and City public schools, while nearly every university in the Baltimore region was closed. Students attending Towson, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins, Morgan State, Stevenson and UMBC enjoyed a snow day.
UMBC junior Mikaila Westendorf was glad to receive a text Tuesday evening alerting students that Wednesday’s classes had been canceled.
“[The timing of these alerts] is very important because you really do have to prepare when you’re planning to go out in the snow,” said Westendorf, who commutes to UMBC from her home in Columbia twice a week.
“It just a stressful process and I’m glad [classes were] canceled today because there’s no way I could get there in these conditions.” Westendorf said.
Nicole Bethea, who works at the Weis grocery store on Putty Hill Avenue in Towson, said that her oldest son was also enjoying his snow day outside. The customer service representative said that Weis did not receive a surge of customers in preparation for Wednesday’s storm. “It’s quiet,” Bethea said. “There’s nobody in here.”
Representatives at the Baltimore County Westside Men’s Shelter in Catonsville said it was a normal day for them.
“Basically, we have pretty much the same number of people we get when it’s cold blue due to the cold,” said Stephen Harlee, the shelter’s resident advocate.
Harlee said the shelter is prepared for situations like this, but he credits the community’s assistance with donations such as food, deodorant, blankets and more.
“They assist in a variety of ways. This is what I observe,” he said. “There are some good people out there.”
There were good people there Wednesday night at Towson when security officer Terrie Benton slid on her way to work.
“When I got to campus, I slid from Newell [residence] Hall to the Den [Dining Hall],” Benton said. “One of my coworkers got out of his car to help me get to the door.”
Despite icy conditions Wednesday night, it is expected to be mostly sunny with a high of 47 degrees today.