(Enlarge) Russell Tracy for The Aegis\r\n\r\nA worker clears sides walks on the corner of Marketplace and Atwood Monday morning.

Harford County highway crews continued to dig out hundreds of residential streets, courts and cul-de-sacs Monday, as emergency officials begin preparing for another storm expected to hit the county sometime Tuesday evening.

Although reports varied, Friday and Saturday's snowfall was among one of the heaviest of all time, with 24 inches being the norm in most reliable estimates. Another 6 to 10 inches or more of snow is forecasted for Tuesday to Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Though most state and county highways and many secondary roads had been cleared by Monday morning, many smaller residential streets were not. Public and private schools and Harford County government were all closed Monday because of the storm.

"We did have a lot of challenges with this storm; we are still plowing streets; are working to open up 1,000 cul-de-sacs or courts throughout the county," county government spokesperson Bob Thomas said Monday morning. "They present one of the most significant challenges because of how people park and what they leave in the street, i.e. the portable basketball hoops, trash cans, etc."

Thomas said the county Department of Public Works had more than 160 of its own personnel and many private contractors working around the clock over the weekend to get more than 1,000 miles of county open and passable for traffic.

Thomas also said there were a few fires over the weekend and a serious accident involving a Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company fire truck and a pickup truck Sunday afternoon at one of the I-95/Route 152 ramps that sent several injured people to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

According to a press release Thomas put out Sunday, the county's fiscal year FY 10 snow removal budget "has been exhausted as the result of this weekend storm." Prior to the Friday and Saturday's storm, the county had a little more than $300,000 left from an original snow removal budget of $1.5 million.

In addition to continuing work on residential streets, the county was confronted with the problem of many fire hydrants being covered by snow and inaccessible to the fire department. Thomas said Harford County Executive David Craig asked "that when citizens shovel their sidewalks they take a few extra minutes to help their local fire department by clearing fire hydrants as well."

“We ask that citizens have patience as the Department of Public Works continues their tireless efforts to clear snow from many side roads and streets throughout Harford County,” Craig said. “Traveling is at best hazardous and we encourage everyone not to venture onto roads until they have been plowed and salted."

Citizens with questions or concerns regarding the snow storm are urged to contact the Harford County Information Line, 410-838-5800.

For more updates on the snowstorm and what's to come, plus many other stories, see Wednesday's edition of The Aegis or log on to www.exploreharford.com or www.theaegis.com.

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