UPDATE: Weather Decision from Howard County Public School System

Public schools in Howard County are closed on Monday, March 2, school officials announced Monday morning.

Here is the announcement:

All evening activities in schools, both school-sponsored and community-sponsored, are canceled. This includes high school athletic practices and games.

Due to below-freezing temperatures, the National Weather Service issued a special weather statement Monday morning alerting people to the fact that untreated surfaces are icy, particularly sidewalks; in addition, weather officials said that fog could limit visibility to one-quarter mile.

Other Schedule Changes

• Curbside collection will occur as planned but may be delayed in some areas, Howard County officials report. The Alpha Ridge Landfill will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Check the status of Howard County Recreation and Parks centers, programs and facilities before you go by calling the appropriate status line. (Parks close when a snow emergency is declared.)
• Maryland School for the Deaf is closed Monday. Liberal leave is in effect for faculty administrators and for non-emergency essential support staff. A decision regarding dorms closures will be made by 10 a.m.
• Federal agencies in the Washington, D.C., area are opening two hours late with the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework.
• See more schedule changes from WJZ.

Previous report: Because of the winter winter, the Howard County Public School System will open two hours late on Monday, March 2.

• Morning prekindergarten and morning RECC programs are canceled.
• All morning child care programs sponsored by the Columbia Association and the Department of Recreation & Parks in Howard County public schools will be delayed two hours.

School officials issued the announcement Sunday night.

The county was under a winter storm warning for freezing rain until 3 a.m. Monday, with the potential for ice accumulation of one-quarter inch that could make driving dangerous, according to the National Weather Service.

Winter weather that started as snow Sunday progressed to sleet and freezing rain by the evening.

Approximately 0.2 inch of ice had accumulated by 5:35 p.m. Sunday in Savage, and 0.7 inch of snow had fallen by 1:15 p.m. in Columbia, according to unofficial reports to the National Weather Service.