BALTIMORE -- A Blizzard Warning issued for Garrett County will remain in effect through 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The county got between two and six inches of snow as of Thursday morning, according to preliminary data from the NWS.

According to the NWS, a cold front moved across northern West Virginia Wednesday night, bringing heavy snow and wind to parts of western Maryland. Wind gusts were forecasted to reach 55 mph.

The Blizzard Warning was also in effect for parts of West Virginia, including Grant and Western Pendleton counties, NWS officials said.

The NWS forecasted that Garrett County could see the heaviest snow and lowest visibility on Thursday morning, impacting the morning commute. Snow blowing in the wind further reduced visibility Thursday afternoon even after snowfall ended.

Wind chills are forecasted to drop to near or below zero by Thursday evening, according to the NWS.

Frostburg State University in Alleghany County canceled all in-person classes due to the winter weather, according to officials.

Much of Maryland was under a Wind Advisory Thursday due to the cold front. Winds will gradually subside in the evening.

Winter in the Baltimore Area

This comes two weeks after parts of Maryland saw their first snowflakes of the season which quickly turned to rainfall near the Baltimore area.

The region typically gets about 20 inches of snow each year and the first measurable amount of snow usually falls around December 14 or 15.

Baltimore City has already declared a Code Blue Extreme Cold Season that will remain in effect through March 2025. During the alert, city agencies are prepared to protect residents from winter weather and cold temperatures.

Winter Weather Preparations

Experts recommend that residents stock up on food and secure shelter ahead of winter weather warnings. Having ingredients for a simple, protein-packed meal that is easy to prepare is useful if you find yourself snowed in.

When winter weather warnings are in effect, the NWS recommends avoiding travel unless it's necessary.

According to AAA, messy road conditions contribute to over 2,000 road deaths each winter. Officials urge drivers to keep cold-weather gear in the car along with extra food and water.

Drivers should ensure their tires are in good condition and their gas tank is at least halfway full before hitting the road.

Enjoying the Winter Weather

Wisp Ski Resort in Western Maryland will surely take advantage of the snowfall as they are scheduled to open their slopes on Friday, Dec. 6. The resort will be open for skiers and snowboarders from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

If the winter weather is putting you in the holiday mood, HERE are some tree lightings and other celebrations to explore in the area.

Maryland schools show improvement on state report card, mixed bag in Baltimore region (WBFF)

Baltimore (WBFF) — The Maryland State Department of Education released its 2024 Maryland School Report Card on Tuesday. The results show an improvement from last year for many school systems around the state. But some districts in the Baltimore region appear to be going in the wrong direction when it comes to high-performing schools.

The report card grades schools on a one-to-five-star scale, based on factors such as academic achievement, progress and graduation rates.

About 1,300 public schools across Maryland are rated.

This year, 91 schools throughout Maryland earned a five-star rating, the highest possible score. That’s up from 85 schools last year. The number of four-star schools also increased to 446, up from 409 in 2023.

"I feel good, said Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carey Wright. " I feel good that we are, that we're showing that level of improvement. I think we still got a ways to go. I'm not going to say that we've achieved what we need to achieve."

Baltimore County had the most five-star schools in the state with 20, up one from 2023.

In a statement Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers writes, "We are encouraged by the growth our schools are making on key markers of progress and achievement. The improvements in 2024 Star Ratings across the system are evidence of the effectiveness of the targeted and comprehensive resources and supports we put in place to fast forward student achievement."

ALSO READ | Fewer Maryland Schools earn a 5 star rating in newest state report card

Anne Arundel and Harford County both also showed growth. Eleven Anne Arundel County Schools earned five-stars up from nine last year. Meanwhile, seven Harford County Schools received the highest rating, compared to four in 2023.

Baltimore City and Carroll County both saw a drop in the number of five-star schools. In City Schools, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute is the lone school to earn the highest star rating. Meanwhile, no Carroll County School earned a five-star rating. However, 65% of the schools in the district earned four-stars.

ALSO READ | Maryland schools test scores show minimal growth, state leaders not pleased

The Department of Education said the statewide growth in overall scores this year is aligned with the growth shown on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) – the state test. On the most recent exam, 24.1% of Maryland students tested scored proficient in Math. In English, 48.4% scored proficient. Both were minimal improvements over the previous year.

But the number of schools achieving at four and five stars still lags behind pre-pandemic levels. Last year, MSDE attributed that decline to chronic absenteeism which is still high around the state.

But the way the state calculates how schools are rated may change. During Tuesday's state board meeting, the board heard from a task forced charged with offering recommendations to adjust Maryland's school rating and accountability systems.

"I want to say there's like a little bit of a disconnect," Wright explained.

Wright’s concern is that the star system does not match student achievement levels. For example, in 2024, in Baltimore City, 10.2% of students scored proficient in math, 27.7% tested proficient in English Language Arts. Yet, nearly half the schools, 63, scored three stars or better, while 81 earned one or two stars.

The numbers are similar in Baltimore County where last year, 19.3% of students scored proficient in Math, with 41.9% scoring proficient in English. Yet, 129 schools received three or more stars, while just 33 received one or two stars.

Wright believes the rating system could be adjusted to more accurately depict student academic success. Though, she’s not yet sure what those changes will be.

“I'm feeling very positive about this, and I think that the superintendents are feeling very, very good about this,” said Wright. “I think they're very hopeful that a new assessment system and a new accountability system is going to make a difference.”

Follow Project Baltimore's Chris Papst on X and Facebook. Send news tips to [email protected]

Update: Fire crews have the massive blaze in Woodberry contained Friday morning and some roads have been reopened.

Tall stacks of lumber collected from around the city acted as fuel for a wind-driven fire unlike any the Baltimore fire chief had ever seen Thursday night in the city’s Woodberry neighborhood.

The large fire was centered at Camp Small, where the city recycles felled trees into lumber products, near where southbound Interstate 83 exits onto W. Cold Spring Lane.

Traffic on I-83 was shut down in both directions from the Northern Parkway exit to Druid Park Lake Drive on Thursday night as at least 100 firefighters and others responded to the emergency. Cold Spring Lane also remained closed and service on nearby light rail tracks was suspended.

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Speaking just after 11 p.m., Mayor Brandon Scott said there were no evacuation orders anticipated, though officials would continue to monitor the situation. He said commuters should expect heavy traffic on Friday morning as crews continued to fight the fire. “83 is closed in the city, period,” he stressed.

Fire Chief James W. Wallace said the fire was not under control as of 11:15 p.m., but that crews were making progress.

Dec 5, 2024

“We’ve gained an upper hand on this,” Wallace said from a roadway briefing area, with bright orange flames visible in the background.

Wallace said the fire department had two dedicated strike teams prepared to respond to any spot fires that were started by embers or fire brands as strong winds continued overnight.

The chief called the blaze “challenging” and “dynamic,” and said he’d never seen a fire of this scope. Crews would be working overnight to contain and put out the fire, which could be seen from miles away on a clear winter night.

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“The challenges here are obviously the weather and safety,” Wallace said. “We’re trying to keep this under control in nighttime hours, so we have a lot of added risk as we try to engage this. But no, I’ve not encountered this type of fire at this size before.”

View post on X

Another complicating factor was the size of the lumber and log stacks, Wallace said. In some parts of Camp Small, the wood was stacked 30 feet high. The fire is deep into piles that could collapse, he said.

That’s especially problematic because Camp Small only has one tiny road in and out of it, meaning a collapsed, burning pile could trap fire crews in, or outside of, the area.

Wallace said the fire department has heavy vehicles waiting to get into the camp and dig a ring around the fire to better contain it, when it is safe for crews to do so.

No injuries had been reported as of 11:15 p.m., officials said. Emergency responders from Anne Arundel, Harford and Baltimore counties and staff from the Maryland Department of Emergency Management were all on scene assisting Thursday night, Scott and Wallace said.

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Fire officials said the blaze was reported as a brush fire on 1900 Brand Ave., though officials are not sure what sparked it initially. The fire was first called in around 5:13 p.m. by a city employee, Marsh said.

“When they got here, they discovered a rapidly evolving fire that was in a large pile of trees and logs,” Wallace said. “This has been a challenge because it’s been a wind-driven fire. It’s been very difficult for us to get out ahead of it.”

The Baltimore light rail track runs between Camp Small and I-83, the Jones Falls Expressway.

Wallace said the light rail tracks had not been compromised, but that the fire was near them.

A video shared with The Banner, taken from The Woodberry Apartment complex at 2001 W. Cold Spring Lane, shows tall flames and smoke pouring into the sky as fire trucks respond on the ground and at least one helicopter is visible in the sky above the blaze.

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A few residents went to see the fire close up. One said he could feel the heat from the fire just standing in the highway.

“We were driving home when we saw smoke and, as we got further, we saw there’s this huge, gigantic fire,” another resident said. “We came to see what’s going on.”

The Maryland Transit Administration suspended light rail service between Falls Road and North Avenue as a precaution. Shuttle bus service is available between these stations, the agency said.

Camp Small is not in a heavily residential area. It is just north of the Fleischmann’s Vinegar location and southeast of the Cylburn Arboretum. It is across the highway and the Jones Falls Expressway from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Western High School. Those schools will be closed Friday, according to the school system.

Largely out of sight, Camp Small has for decades been the city’s dumping ground for waste wood collected from downed street trees.

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Its roughly five acres of kindling are vulnerable to a fire. Logs are stacked 30 feet high and line the length of a narrow driveway that is the only access to a small workshop. Large piles of wood chips and cut firewood also cover portions of the plot.

Camp Small is more than a scrap yard, however. In 2016, the site became part of Baltimore’s zero-waste initiative. A small crew began repurposing scrap wood, usually oak and ash, into usable products including wood chips, firewood and eventually lumber.

The operation has been nationally recognized for its sustainability efforts. Products from Camp Small can be found across the city. Mulch from the site softens the ground under city playgrounds and benches adorn city parks. Lumber milled at the site decorates the walls at the city’s Cahill Recreation Center. Camp Small also supplies products to a number of Baltimore artisans and furniture makers, including Sandtown Millworks.

The fire and high winds also prompted officials to cancel the fireworks show at the city’s annual Monument lighting.

“We have three particularly bad fires going on in Baltimore City right now that are being spread by the high winds,” Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry told the crowd at the celebration in Mount Vernon. “And because those fires require a lot of attention, we are not going to be able to set off the fireworks here tonight.”

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Wallace said there had also been a fire in the 600 block of W. Lexington St., and that he believed crews had responded to a third blaze.

Banner reporters Emily Opilo and Justin Fenton contributed to this report.

Update: Fire crews have the massive blaze in Woodberry contained Friday morning and some roads have been reopened.

Tall stacks of lumber collected from around the city acted as fuel for a wind-driven fire unlike any the Baltimore fire chief had ever seen Thursday night in the city’s Woodberry neighborhood.

The large fire was centered at Camp Small, where the city recycles felled trees into lumber products, near where southbound Interstate 83 exits onto W. Cold Spring Lane.

Traffic on I-83 was shut down in both directions from the Northern Parkway exit to Druid Park Lake Drive on Thursday night as at least 100 firefighters and others responded to the emergency. Cold Spring Lane also remained closed and service on nearby light rail tracks was suspended.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Speaking just after 11 p.m., Mayor Brandon Scott said there were no evacuation orders anticipated, though officials would continue to monitor the situation. He said commuters should expect heavy traffic on Friday morning as crews continued to fight the fire. “83 is closed in the city, period,” he stressed.

Fire Chief James W. Wallace said the fire was not under control as of 11:15 p.m., but that crews were making progress.

Dec 5, 2024

“We’ve gained an upper hand on this,” Wallace said from a roadway briefing area, with bright orange flames visible in the background.

Wallace said the fire department had two dedicated strike teams prepared to respond to any spot fires that were started by embers or fire brands as strong winds continued overnight.

The chief called the blaze “challenging” and “dynamic,” and said he’d never seen a fire of this scope. Crews would be working overnight to contain and put out the fire, which could be seen from miles away on a clear winter night.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

“The challenges here are obviously the weather and safety,” Wallace said. “We’re trying to keep this under control in nighttime hours, so we have a lot of added risk as we try to engage this. But no, I’ve not encountered this type of fire at this size before.”

View post on X

Another complicating factor was the size of the lumber and log stacks, Wallace said. In some parts of Camp Small, the wood was stacked 30 feet high. The fire is deep into piles that could collapse, he said.

That’s especially problematic because Camp Small only has one tiny road in and out of it, meaning a collapsed, burning pile could trap fire crews in, or outside of, the area.

Wallace said the fire department has heavy vehicles waiting to get into the camp and dig a ring around the fire to better contain it, when it is safe for crews to do so.

No injuries had been reported as of 11:15 p.m., officials said. Emergency responders from Anne Arundel, Harford and Baltimore counties and staff from the Maryland Department of Emergency Management were all on scene assisting Thursday night, Scott and Wallace said.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Fire officials said the blaze was reported as a brush fire on 1900 Brand Ave., though officials are not sure what sparked it initially. The fire was first called in around 5:13 p.m. by a city employee, Marsh said.

“When they got here, they discovered a rapidly evolving fire that was in a large pile of trees and logs,” Wallace said. “This has been a challenge because it’s been a wind-driven fire. It’s been very difficult for us to get out ahead of it.”

The Baltimore light rail track runs between Camp Small and I-83, the Jones Falls Expressway.

Wallace said the light rail tracks had not been compromised, but that the fire was near them.

A video shared with The Banner, taken from The Woodberry Apartment complex at 2001 W. Cold Spring Lane, shows tall flames and smoke pouring into the sky as fire trucks respond on the ground and at least one helicopter is visible in the sky above the blaze.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

A few residents went to see the fire close up. One said he could feel the heat from the fire just standing in the highway.

“We were driving home when we saw smoke and, as we got further, we saw there’s this huge, gigantic fire,” another resident said. “We came to see what’s going on.”

The Maryland Transit Administration suspended light rail service between Falls Road and North Avenue as a precaution. Shuttle bus service is available between these stations, the agency said.

Camp Small is not in a heavily residential area. It is just north of the Fleischmann’s Vinegar location and southeast of the Cylburn Arboretum. It is across the highway and the Jones Falls Expressway from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Western High School. Those schools will be closed Friday, according to the school system.

Largely out of sight, Camp Small has for decades been the city’s dumping ground for waste wood collected from downed street trees.

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Its roughly five acres of kindling are vulnerable to a fire. Logs are stacked 30 feet high and line the length of a narrow driveway that is the only access to a small workshop. Large piles of wood chips and cut firewood also cover portions of the plot.

Camp Small is more than a scrap yard, however. In 2016, the site became part of Baltimore’s zero-waste initiative. A small crew began repurposing scrap wood, usually oak and ash, into usable products including wood chips, firewood and eventually lumber.

The operation has been nationally recognized for its sustainability efforts. Products from Camp Small can be found across the city. Mulch from the site softens the ground under city playgrounds and benches adorn city parks. Lumber milled at the site decorates the walls at the city’s Cahill Recreation Center. Camp Small also supplies products to a number of Baltimore artisans and furniture makers, including Sandtown Millworks.

The fire and high winds also prompted officials to cancel the fireworks show at the city’s annual Monument lighting.

“We have three particularly bad fires going on in Baltimore City right now that are being spread by the high winds,” Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry told the crowd at the celebration in Mount Vernon. “And because those fires require a lot of attention, we are not going to be able to set off the fireworks here tonight.”

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Wallace said there had also been a fire in the 600 block of W. Lexington St., and that he believed crews had responded to a third blaze.

Banner reporters Emily Opilo and Justin Fenton contributed to this report.

TIMONIUM, Md. (Dec. 5, 2024) Planet Fitness Port Orchard (1948 SE Lund Ave., Port Orchard, WA 98366) will host a Construction Preview event, Saturday, Dec. 14, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Rain or shine, community members are invited to get a first look at the 16,000-square-foot club which is expected to open by year end. In addition to getting a sneak peek outside the facility, guests can enjoy complimentary refreshments and enter to win such prizes as:

● 65” Smart TV ● iRobot Roomba ● UW Huskies merchandise ● Planet Fitness specialty items ● Free year of the PF Black Card® Membership – which includes the ability to bring a guest every day at no additional charge, access to all 2,600+ Planet Fitness locations in all 50 states and access to the Black Card Spa® area, among other benefits.

Those in attendance will have the opportunity to sign up that day for Planet Fitness membership at special discounted rates. Either join with no commitment for $1 down, then $19.99/month for the PF Black Card® membership. Or, join with no commitment for $1 down, then $15/month for the Classic Card membership, which includes free fitness training led by a certified fitness trainer through the pe@pf® program.

“We’re thrilled to be hearing a lot of buzz about the Port Orchard club, so we encourage community members to stop by on Dec. 14 to learn about our non-intimidating fitness experience,” said Justin Drummond, president of Ohana Growth Partners (OGP), one of the largest franchise divisions of Planet Fitness.

Planet Fitness Port Orchard will offer state-of-the-art cardio machines and strength equipment, Full-Body Circuit, fully equipped locker rooms with lockers and showers, numerous flat screen televisions and Black Card Spa® with HydroMassage beds, massage chairs, tanning beds, red light therapy and more – all in a hassle-free environment.

The club will be OGP’s 14th Planet Fitness location in the Seattle area. Its portfolio includes clubs in Bremerton, Burlington, Edmonds, Everett, Lacey, Lake Stevens, Marysville (Smokey Point), Mill Creek, Monroe, North Seattle, Oak Harbor, Olympia and Rainier Beach.

For more information about Planet Fitness Port Orchard or to sign up for membership, visit www.planetfitness.com/gyms/port-orchard-wa. For more information about Planet Fitness overall, visit www.PlanetFitness.com or follow @PlanetFitness on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

About Planet Fitness Founded in 1992 in Dover, NH, Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness clubs in the world by number of members and locations. As of September 30, 2024, Planet Fitness had approximately 19.6 million members and 2,637 clubs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Australia and Spain. The Company's mission is to enhance people's lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, which we call the Judgement Free Zone®. More than 90% of Planet Fitness clubs are owned and operated by independent business men and women.

About Ohana Growth Partners, LLC Ohana Growth Partners, LLC owns and operates 79 Planet Fitness health clubs with more than 550,000 members in Maryland, District of Columbia, Tennessee, Florida, Washington State and California. It also is a joint venture partner with six clubs in Australia. In 2013, OGP was named The Inaugural Franchise of the Year by Planet Fitness Corporate. In 2014, the group was named Planet Fitness Developer of the Year for opening 11 clubs in 12 months as well as receiving the award for Highest BER (Brand Excellence Review) awarded by Planet Fitness Corporate. In 2015, the group was again named Planet Fitness Developer of the Year awarded by Planet Fitness Corporate. The following year, the group was given the Judgement Free Generation award for their exceptional work with the local boys and girls clubs in Tennessee by Planet Fitness Corporate.