A man walks in front of stalled traffic near downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday where overnight snow caused major problems for motorists

January 20, 2000
Web posted at: 9:13 a.m. EST (1413 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Snow fell across parts of Maryland on Tuesday as temperatures dropped lower than the previous, bone-chilling day.

It was 18 degrees early Tuesday afternoon at Baltimore- Washington International Airport. It had been in the low 20s at the same time the previous day.

A storm system will move into the region Wednesday night and with it, the potential for the first accumulating snow of the season.

"It's hard to say if it will be a half-inch or 2 inches," said meteorologist Andy Pace.

Friday and Saturday will be dry with temperatures in the 30s.

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"We're going to remain below the average high temperature through the weekend -- a little taste of winter finally," said meteorologist Michelle Margraf of the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia.

Snow flurries began falling Tuesday afternoon, snarling afternoon and evening rush hour. Both Prince George's and Montgomery County put their snow emergency programs into effect.

restricting parking on snow emergency routes and barring vehicles without snow tires from traveling on county or state roads.

The Maryland State Police reported that dozens of vehicles were disabled on the Capital Beltway and other major commuter routes.

Spokesman Pete Piringer said snow emergency crews were not able to complete their work before the evening commute began.

State police were warning motorists who could delay traveling on road to stay off them until later. *

Snow covers Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington on Tuesday

Suddenly frigid temperatures led Anne Arundel County police to arrest a Crofton woman Monday for leaving her child in her car for 22 minutes while she went into a store.

A Severna Park family was baffled by an odor of smoke in their home until firefighters discovered a raccoon had climbed into their heat pump to get warm.

About an inch of snow fell in St. Mary's County, as well as in eastern Maryland, which received its first snowfall of the new year.

The one-inch accumulation was enough to activate state and county snowplows over much of the Delmarva area. State Highway Administration crews were spreading salt late Tuesday on main roads in the southern part of Wicomico County. *

Police in the area reported no serious accidents related to the storm.