Baltimore commuters should be bracing for biting temperatures and gusty conditions today during this historic inauguration.
Commuters and onlookers today will face mostly cloudy but dry weather with temperatures mainly remaining in the 20s leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, according to AccuWeather officials.
“The big thing is that with the wind blowing, it’ll be pretty cold and feel like it’s in the teens,” said Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather. “Anybody that’s out needs to bundle up.”
Attendees should wear a heavy coat, gloves, hat, scarf, comfortable shoes and be prepared to stand outside for several hours and walk a lot, officials said.
A Monday snowstorm brought around 1 inch of snow in some parts of the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan region.
Around 12:30 p.m., two died and many people were injured following an estimated 24-vehicle crash on Interstate 70 at the Frederick and Washington County line, temporarily closing the westbound lanes, according to state police and state highway officials.
Weather officials are monitoring another storm that moved into the Carolinas on Monday night and into today.
“There’s a little concern that the storm might strengthen more than we think and throw some snow into the Baltimore and D.C. area, but it’s unlikely and will probably stay far enough offshore,” Kines said.
Although no more precipitation is expected, the snow that did fall will remain on the ground with the cold temperatures.
State officials said roads have been pretreated with salt, beginning Sunday, and crews stand ready for the unexpected.
“We’re continuously monitoring the weather should it change,” said Lora Rakowski, spokeswoman for the State Highway Administration. “As everybody knows, weather can change in an instant.”
SHA has taken a number of precautionary measures in anticipation of any extreme weather, including providing extra emergency patrols to assist any stranded motorists, she said.
Throughout the area, AAA Mid-Atlantic will be dispatching a large fleet of tow trucks on high-volume traffic routes, including Interstates 95 and 495 and near D.C. Metro stations, officials said.
They will be equipped to assist motorists with tows, dead batteries, stalled cars, flat tires and empty gas tanks.
