Severe thunderstorms hit the Baltimore area on Saturday evening, uprooting trees and blocking 184 roads across the city, Mayor Brandon Scott wrote on social media platform X at 7:35 p.m.
“We are actively monitoring the storm and have teams ready to deploy to clear roads once lightning clears the area,” he wrote. “Please stay off the roads if possible and report downed trees and traffic signal outages to 311.”
Just after 10:20 p.m., crews from Baltimore City Recreation and Parks, Baltimore City Department of Transportation and the Baltimore City Fire Department were responding to 731 requests for service — including more than 400 fallen trees and more than 60 traffic light outages, according to an update from Scott’s office.
“We currently have crews on the street removing debris, starting with main thoroughfares and making their way to side streets,” the update said. “Teams will work throughout the night to clear roadways. Since we are prioritizing clearing roads, crews may leave behind tree debris once roadways are clear. We will go back to clear the remainder of debris next week. Please report any downed trees to 311.”
Social media posts from reporters at WMAR and WBAL showed large trees and debris completely blocking roadways in Hampden, Roland Park and other north Baltimore neighborhoods. The storm prompted the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts to cancel Artscape’s Saturday headline act, percussionist and drummer Sheila E., after another storm on Friday prompted the cancellation of that day’s headline performance from Chaka Khan.
The storms knocked out power for 43,801 BGE customers across central Maryland, the company said in an email just after 9 p.m. The hardest hit areas were Baltimore and Baltimore County, but there is damage throughout the region. Crews had restored power for about 7,000 customers as of 9 p.m.
“Widespread storm damage includes tree debris, downed trees and wires,” the email said. “BGE crews and contractors are working to restore power for customers as quickly and safely as possible.”
In Baltimore, BGE reported 574 outages affecting 30,430 customers, according to the update from Scott’s office. The company expects to restore service to 80% of customers by 6 a.m. on Monday, the update said.
Showers and thunderstorms remain likely for the rest of Saturday evening, mainly before 11 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Storms are expected to return before 8 a.m. on Sunday and after 11 a.m. Sunday night is projected to be mostly clear with a low around 70 and calm wind.