Weather Decision Made For Mongtomery County Schools On Feb. 13

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Montgomery County Public Schools will open two hours late Tuesday because of the winter weather, while offices opened on time.

Childcare is open; parents should check with their provider.

All MCPS operations, including bus transportation, are delayed by two hours from the regular schedule. Full-day kindergarten will also open two hours late.

Morning Head Start and morning prekindergarten are canceled. Field trips and other activities and programs that begin at 10:30 or earlier (such as the Thomas Edison High School of Technology) are canceled, WTOP reported.

Neighboring states north of Maryland are expected to get up to a foot of snow by Tuesday night, while up to 3 inches should be all Maryland sees Tuesday, an updated forecast says.

Initial forecasts Monday morning called only for rain and a few snowflakes in most of the state, but by 3 p.m. the forecast was calling for measurable snow for several counties. A winter weather advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service's Baltimore/Washington D.C. office for all or parts of Baltimore, Howard, Carroll and Harford counties, plus the city of Frederick.

The advisory is in effect from 3 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The updated forecast calls for rain to change to snow, with total accumulations of up to two inches. Winds will gust as high as 35 mph.

"Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute," the NWS said.

Snow will be heavy at times, with rates of around 1/2 to 1 inch per hour through mid-morning Tuesday. Visibility may be reduced to less than one-half mile at times.