{"id":1701,"date":"2016-01-20T15:56:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-20T20:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mema\/?p=1701"},"modified":"2016-02-08T14:37:49","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T19:37:49","slug":"weekend-winter-storm-heading-toward-maryland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/2016\/01\/20\/weekend-winter-storm-heading-toward-maryland\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend Winter Storm Heading Toward Maryland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\" align=\"center\"><strong><em>Accumulating Snow, High Winds, and Cold Temperatures Likely for Entire State Beginning Friday<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\" align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/mdmema\/pr-1-20-2016-weekend-winter-1\">Click here for audio of this release.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\" align=\"center\">\u00a0<b>REISTERSTOWN, Md. (<span class=\"aBn\"><span class=\"aQJ\">January 20, 2016<\/span><\/span>) \u2014\u00a0<\/b>A low-pressure winter storm system is heading toward Maryland and will likely bring heavy snow, high winds, and cold temperatures to the State. The storm is expected to begin\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0with the heaviest precipitation occurring\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0afternoon through\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Saturday<\/span><\/span>. The National Weather Service expects most of the State to be affected and has already issued a blizzard watch for central and southern Maryland and a winter storm watch for western Maryland beginning\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Friday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0at\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\"><span class=\"aQJ\">noon<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and going through\u00a0<span class=\"aBn\"><span class=\"aQJ\">Saturday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0evening. In addition to potential blizzard conditions which correlate to gusty winds and low visibility, the National Weather Service has indicated that minor to moderate coastal flooding could occur.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0Residents should make preparations now and are urged to stay off the roads during the height of the storm.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0\u201cState agencies are coordinating all available resources to prepare to clear roads and manage incidents that may be caused by this significant storm but Marylanders should also take action now,\u201d said Governor Larry Hogan. \u201cBefore the storm hits, make sure you have supplies at home and communications devices charged. Be a good neighbor\u2014check on relatives, friends, and those who may be more vulnerable to cold and a big winter storm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0MEMA and other state agencies are preparing to assist local responders with any issues related to the storm. MEMA has hosted conference calls with the National Weather Service, state agencies, local emergency management offices, and other partners to coordinate response efforts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0\u201cThis has the potential to be a serious storm affecting a wide area,\u201d said MEMA Executive Director Russell Strickland. \u201cWe are coordinating with State and local officials to ensure that any area that is significantly impacted by this storm will be able to respond effectively and promote resident safety.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0In addition to staying off the roads and monitoring the weather and power outages, residents should take the following actions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left\">Keep devices charged so you will have a way to follow weather forecasts and local emergency information and be able to contact family and friends.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left\">Be cautious shoveling snow or ice to avoid overexertion. Take frequent breaks and keep hydrated. If snow is accumulating on your rooftop, consider removing snow if it is safe to do so.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left\">If you must travel, make sure to have car chargers, kitty litter, or sand for traction, and extra drinks and snacks in case you get stuck in traffic. Let friends or family know of your travel route and expected arrival time.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left\">Check on friends, neighbors, and relatives, especially the elderly or vulnerable residents who may have trouble staying warm or maneuvering on icy surfaces.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left\">Know who to contact in the case of a power outage. Emergency phone numbers for utility companies can be found here:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/mema.maryland.gov\/Pages\/PowerOutages.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/mema.maryland.gov\/Pages\/PowerOutages.aspx<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additionally, traffic, weather, and power outage alerts, as well as winter preparedness information, can be accessed on the Maryland Emergency Management Agency\u2019s website at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mema.maryland.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">mema.maryland.gov<\/a>.\u00a0You can also follow MEMA on\u00a0Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/MDMEMA\" target=\"_blank\">@MDMEMA<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0on Facebook at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MDMEMA\">www.facebook.com\/MDMEMA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accumulating Snow, High Winds, and Cold Temperatures Likely for Entire State Beginning Friday Click here for audio of this release. \u00a0REISTERSTOWN, Md. (January 20, 2016) \u2014\u00a0A low-pressure winter storm system is heading toward Maryland and will likely bring heavy snow, high winds, and cold temperatures to the State. The storm is expected to begin\u00a0Friday\u00a0with the<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/2016\/01\/20\/weekend-winter-storm-heading-toward-maryland\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1701"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5937,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions\/5937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}