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W e a t h e r W a r r i o r . N e t
January 14th, 1999 - Ice Storm
Gaithersburg, Maryland		 2002 chaser header
The photos included herewith were taken by Fred Bader, K3CSX in the Gaithersburg area.  I was not in town during this event.  I had departed for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) show in Dallas, Texas (where temperatures were in the 70s almost my entire trip), and at the time of my departure, the sleet and freezing rain had just begun.  This storm cased multiple power outages and did considerable amount of damage.  I missed the whole thing, but Fred, K3CSX knowing I was missing it, took these photos for me.

PHOTOGRAPHS (Click to Enlarge)
Gaithersburg, Maryland






(Click to Enlarge)

from the National Weather Service - Sterling WFO:
January 14-15, 1999: A low pressure system pushed northeast from the Tennessee Valley spreading rain across the Baltimore-Washington Region. At the same time, an arctic front had sagged south from Pennsylyvania dropping temperatures at the surface below freezing. The rain instantly froze to surfaces creating a glaze. After a half to three-quarter inch of ice accumulated on trees and wires, 40 mph winds was enough to bring many of them down. Trees fell on cars, houses, utility lines and roads. The Governor declared a state of Emergency in Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard and Montgomery Counties. About a half a million customers were without power and 800 pedestrians were reported injured from falls on ice. Washington Hospital treated 250 patients for storm-related injuries on the 15th. Montgomery County was particularly hard hit. Some people were without power for a week and 30 school buses slipped off the road.

Investigation of PEPCO
Ice Storm Related Power Outages
Formal Case No. 982
A severe ice storm hit the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on January 14-15, 1999, leaving as many as 230,000 PEPCO Maryland and D.C. customers without power. In the District of Columbia, over 19,000 customers were without power. In D.C., the outage was generally confined to the Anacostia and upper northwest areas. PEPCO characterized this winter storm as "one of the worst in 102 years." Most of the damage was caused by ice on trees. Virtually all D.C. customers had their power restored by January 18, 1999. Essentially, in relying on weather forecasts, PEPCO was surprised that the "freeze lines were much further South than predicted."

To find the rest of the report in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat form), click here.
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