Some Maryland schools are delayed, closed Tuesday as temperatures reach single digits

BALTIMORE — Several Maryland schools are delayed and Harford County Public Schools are closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 due to biting cold across the state.

The following schools are delayed on Tuesday, January 21:

• Anne Arundel County Public Schools (staff delayed two hours, students previously scheduled off)
• Baltimore City Public Schools (delayed two hours)
• Baltimore County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
• Carroll County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
• Cecil County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
• Frederick County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
• Howard County Public Schools (delayed two hours)
• Prince George’s County Public Schools (delayed two hours)

WJZ will continue to update the list of school closings as they are reported. Find a complete list of closures HERE.

Stay up to date on the weather forecast with WJZ’s First Alert Weather team.

Total snowfall

On Sunday, January 19, Maryland saw more snowfall. Communities like Dayton and Reisterstown saw between two and three inches, while Taneytown saw nearly five.

Dangerously cold temperatures

Monday’s temperatures hovered just below the 20s before dropping into the teens and single digits overnight. Northwesterly winds brought chills near or below zero across the region.

“(I wear) lots of layers,” Baltimore resident Sheri Hunt said. “You have to wear many layers.”

Anne Arundel County resident Cathy Rosenbaum echoed her friend’s advice.

“Warm boots (help, too). I’m from New England, so I know how to layer,” Rosenbaum said.

Baltimore is under one Code Blue Declaration for extreme cold up to and including Thursday 23 January. Other areas, like Howard County, are under cold weather advisories.

The Weinberg Housing and Resource Center, located at 620 Fallsway, will open as a warming center from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m., and My Sister’s Place at 17 W. Franklin Street will be open from

Some residents were still out walking the Inner Harbor Monday evening, including the Scherr family, who took their two dogs for a walk.

“We took him for a little longer walk than usual because it’s his birthday, but just today. We braved the cold for this guy,” explained Harrison and Emily Scherr. “It’s pretty brutal. Yeah, it’s cold right now.”

Others were out running daily errands and said they had to wear extra layers just to avoid the cold.

“Dress warm, put on your mittens, cover your ears and head, and just move quickly,” said Jody Lepore of Baltimore. “This year appears to have more extremes, and so is 2024 to 2025. The summer was extremely hot, and the winter appears to be extremely cold and unrelenting.”

When outside, it is recommended to cover your head, wear several layers of light, loose clothing, and you should also wear a scarf and gloves.

If you find yourself shaking, swelling or numbness: you may be at risk of hypothermia or frostbite.

The city has activated winter protection, including heating shelters and overnight protection. You can find the full list here.

If you need help connecting to a shelter, you can call the Baltimore City Shelter Hotline at 443-984-9540.

Crews working to treat roadways

Crews with Baltimore’s Department of Public Works and Department of Transportation have been working since the weekend to clear roads, as well as trash and recycle pickups.

Many were pleasantly surprised on Monday to see that the roads were clear from Sunday’s storms. Whether it was a main road or a side street, it was hard to find a crew missing.

“I think they’ve done a tremendous job. The sidewalks and the streets are clear,” said Baltimore resident Robert Gunn. “It’s very acceptable and I have no complaints.”

While the roads are clear, water main breaks are still a high risk. Nearly 20 active breaks were listed Monday afternoon on DPW’s wrecked water motherboard online.

Extra crew and emergency contractors are repairing them.

“We will have twice as many crews as we (usually) have at any time before,” DPW director Khalil Zaied said. “Since the last event, we have had 200 water main breaks.”

Zaied recommends that residents call 311 if they’re still having trouble getting their trash or recycling picked up, or if their road isn’t getting the attention it needs.

The State Highway Administration (SHA) said crews are using infrared weather systems mounted on the vehicles to get real-time data from the roads to better assess the treatment plan.

“When it gets really cold, we have to use something called liquid magnesium that we spray on the salt. Liquid magnesium, it’s not bad for the environment, but it’s good for up to 20 minutes, so it can break any mold for bag of ice that’s out there,” said Charlie Gischlar, vice director of communications for SHA.