After about 2,000 gallons of oil spilled into the water in Baltimore’s Harbor East area Wednesday afternoon, crews are racing to clean the harbor as forecasts of rainthreaten to worsen the situation.
The spill, which city officials say came from diesel tanks supplying fuel to the Johns Hopkins Hospital care facilities, has been contained to a roughly 100-by-250-yard area at the South Central Avenue Bridge marina. But with a 20% chance of showers on late Friday afternoon and thunderstorms forecast throughout the weekend, containment of the oil has become increasingly precarious, according to the National Weather Service.
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“Should this happen, and rain come behind it, we’re gonna lose control, in the worst-case scenario,” James Wallace, Baltimore City’s chief of fire, said in a news conference Thursday morning.
That’s what happened in 2014 at an oil production well 12 miles southeast of Green River, Utah. An estimated 100 barrels of crude oil spilled into a surrounding dry marsh, and despite being initially contained, a rainstorm caused the oil to wash into the nearby Green River.
Friday morning is predicted to be partly sunny with a high of 86, but the threat of rain comes after 2 p.m. Temperatures are forecast to fall to a low of 67 on Friday night, with the possibility of thunderstorms before 11 p.m., and then scattered showers after 2 a.m.
Weekend weather will likely be cooler, with a higher chance of precipitation. Saturday is expected to have a high of 82. Showers will likely continue throughout the day, with a 60% chance of precipitation, alongside a possible thunderstorm between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday evening’s forecast has a 30% chance of rain and a low of 65.
Temperatures Sunday should continue to fall, hitting a high of 77, and there’s a 70% chance of showers with the possibility of thunderstorms between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., with possibly more thunderstorms later in the day. A 60% chance of showers is forecast to continue throughout Sunday evening, with temperatures dropping to 64 and a chance of some scattered thunderstorms between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Skies are anticipated to clear Monday, with the forecast of partly sunny weather and a high of 82.
This article will be updated.
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