by Geoff Fox
The first snow of 2025 has hit the Hancock area as the first flakes started falling later Sunday evening, January 5.
Hancock Public Works were out that evening around 11:30 p.m. as they started plowing and salting the town roads, Town Manager Mike Faith said during a Facebook Live on Monday morning, January 6.
Main Street falls to the state to plow.
During the overnight hours, Faith said one salt box on a truck broke while full of salt.
Overall, everything had gone as expected, though, Faith said.
During his live stream, Faith said the roads were ok, but crews were still working to keep them cleared.
Snow accumulated on sidewalks and roads, and was slushy as Monday hit midday. Temperatures didn’t rise much, but vehicles were able to make it through Main Street and several side roads. Local residents and business owners were moving snow on Monday as the precipitation took a pause before resuming later in the day.
Schools in Washington County and surrounding counties announced closures on Sunday night ahead of the start of snow.
In a release, Washington County Government announced the closure of all county offices on January 6.
The main thing town and county governments, as well as first responders, were telling people were to remain off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Maryland State Police enacted the Snow Emergency Plan for all of Washington County at 1:30 a.m., Monday morning, January 6, due to hazardous driving conditions in the snow.
The Snow Emergency Plan means all vehicles traveling on designated state Snow Emergency Routes must be equipped with chains, snow tires, or all-season radial tires.
Vehicles parked on those routes are subject to removal and/or impound.
Some sidewalks were clear while others were white on Monday morning, January 6, between bursts of snowfall.
These young men were hard at work clearing the sidewalk on Monday morning.
