Stay Off the Roads Sunday in Montgomery County

BETHESDA, MD — Blizzard conditions won’t keep us inside today, but state and local officials are asking that when you dig your car out, you stay off the road.

Road crews face the monumental task of moving more than two feet of snow off streets and highways, with winds pushing drifts back over clear roads in some areas.

Montgomery County Police urge residents to stay off the roads Sunday so crews can continue to clear city streets.

“If you don’t have to be anywhere today, please stay off the roads - they are still slippery and icy,” police said.

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Saturday night, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ordered two interstates closed so snowplows could clear the routes.

All northbound and southbound lanes of I-270 – 35 miles from I-81 in Washington County to the Baltimore Beltway -- were closed until 7 a.m. Also, I-70 was closed from the Baltimore Beltway, or I-695, to I-81 in Washington County.

Maryland State Police say while the interstates are now open, troopers report driving statewide is still dangerous. “Urge you to refrain from driving again today,” the department said on Twitter.

Hogan will hold a press conference later this morning to update residents on snowstorm recovery work.

State Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar said people are venturing out onto the roads Sunday, which he called a critical day in clearing highways. “So we ask that citizens curtail non-essential travel,” he said.

Even major roads are still snow-covered and in urban areas snow removal is complicated by crews having to load snow into trucks and haul it away.