The Ice Storm that Never Was - Storms in Baltimore/Washington DC Metro Area a Miss

This weekend, parts of the Northeast were hit hard by a winter storm of snow and ice; however the Baltimore/Washington DC Metro Area was spared the brunt of the storm.

In Martinsburg, West Virginia, just ninety minutes north and east of Washington DC, we were expecting three to five inches of snow followed by one-quarter to one-half an inch of ice. If that would have been the case, there would have been devastating effects throughout the region.

The previous week, the Baltimore/Washington Metro Area was hit harder than expected by a major ice storm. We had one-quarter inch of ice coating everything and the closer one got to the major cities, the higher the ice accumulations. Every news station was covering what was becoming a major disaster. Not since September Eleventh has there been such traffic nightmares around the Washington DC Beltway. Practically every single ramp on and off the DC Beltway was closed down. Nobody could get off the highway because the ramps had all become skating rinks and police were forced to close them.

Last week in Martinsburg, the roads were icy and too dangerous for even my husband to venture out on. This man is proud of his perfect attendance records at work and has not missed work for well over a year until that day. The photograph accompanying this article is from our backyard that day. My youngest daughter is a budding photographer and took advantage of all the natural beauty to snap a few photos.

Thus, it is completely understandable for everyone to go crazy when they hear we are about to be hit with another major ice storm. The grocery stores were insane! Everyone was preparing because we had all been caught off guard the previous week.