Is it safe to go out?

Travel conditions are treacherous, with 30 mph winds and possibly gusts of up to 50 mph blowing snow and limiting visibility to a quarter of a mile or less. A statewide snow emergency plan is in effect, restricting travel and parking on all state roads designated as snow emergency routes. A state of emergency declared by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is also in effect.

“Now is the time for Marylanders to stay at home and off the roads,” Hogan said Friday. “This is the safe choice. It will also allow emergency services vehicles to maneuver and road crews to begin the long process of clearing highways and streets.”

Maryland Emergency Management Agency officials said less than 1,500 utility customers were without power statewide by midday, after that number spiked to about 10,000 early Saturday morning.

Gov. Larry Hogan thanked residents for heeding calls to stay at home and asked for continued patience.

“I want to thank Marylanders for the common sense they have shown thus far,” he said in a statement. “I want to urge people to continue to stay off of the roads unless travel is absolutely essential. It is still very dangerous out there and stalled and abandoned vehicles make it that much harder for snow plow operators.

MEMA Executive Director Russ Strickland urged residents to continue to check on vulnerable friends, neighbors and relatives.

“We still have at least 12 hours of storm conditions ahead of us," he said in a statement. "The best way to get through this is if we all work together and communicate.”

Update from Baltimore City officials

“Our crews are working very hard in 12 hour shifts and because we have been able to do so without significant interference by the number of abandoned vehicles that we have had in the past, we’ve been able to be effective out there,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said a Saturday morning news conference. “We’ve been able to make a number of improvements since Snowmageddon.”

For this storm, she said the city has tripled the number of private contractors helping to remove snow on neighborhood streets. She said crews have already identified areas where they can drop snow removed from streets, and the city has help from a contractor in hauling the snow. In 2010, snow was dropped off at Pimlico Race Course, among other locations. The city even had a permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment to dump snow in the Inner Harbor.

“While we are prepared more then we’ve ever been for a snowstorm, a storm of this magnitude requires patience,” Rawlings-Blake said. “Don’t panic if you haven’t seen a snow plow on your street. We have a big city and there’s a lot of snow to move.”

The mayor asked residents to look after neighbors, and for residents to call 311 if they see homeless out in the storm. She said outreach worker will work with homeless, and that the city has added shuttles to help get them to shelters.

City transportation Director William Johnson said crews were able to work overnight, despite the high-winds, and heavy snow-fall.

“Our strategy in plowing is to plow continuously so we don’t get a huge build up of so much snow that it becomes difficult to push,” Johnson said.

But he said cleared roads get quickly covered by new snowfall and drifting snow.

“It’s a constant process,” he said. The plows aim to keep no more than four to six inches of snow to accumulate before they can get back around.

Johnson said the city remains in phase 2 in snow operation response, which means only those with snow tires or 4-wheel drive are permitted on the road.

Plowing will continue through the night and throughout Sunday, and possibly into Monday “before we start to see our roads cleared up,” Johnson said. Once roads are cleared, the city has about 8,000 tons of salt ready to put on the streets.

From Andrea McDaniels, reporting from Asburton

A roof patio is great for sipping wine and and enjoying the outdoors in the summertime. But not so much during a blizzard.

Noell Lugay came out to several inches of snow on her rooftop deck in Ashburton Saturday afternoon.

The manager of operations for Baltimore City Public Schools was busy shoveling all the snow to the yard below.

“All this snow on the roof just makes me nervous,” she said, peering out from the mound of clothes she had on to stay warm.“…I don’t need it to be perfect but I just need to get some of this weight off the roof.”

The first time homebuyer who moved in less than a year ago, said she wasn’t really worried about it collapsing, but said anything can happen.

“I just don’t’ want any problems later,” she said.

From Luke Broadwater, reporting from Baltimore County

About 60 percent of Baltimore County's roads hadn't been plowed as early afternoon Saturday, but that didn't stop photographer Geoffrey S. Baker from getting outside to get some shots in the frigid winds and high snow.

About 2.5 feet of snow had fallen in Oella, the hilly, southwest Baltimore County neighborhood that borders Ellicott City, where Baker, 57, lives. A main road, Oella Avenue, had been plowed twice, but others nearby were untouched by plows.

With snow almost up to his waist, Baker used ski polls to get down to the Patapsco River to shoot. He used a heavy tripod and an umbrella and draped the camera with a towel.

"Everything still got soaked," he said.

Nevertheless, Baker got two photos good enough to publish on his website. And he publicly thanked Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz on Twitter for the county's plowing of Oella Ave.

"We're usually abandoned big-time," he said.

Falls Road Animal Hospital located at 6314 Falls Road is the official 24-Hour Animal Emergency Hospital for Baltimore City and Baltimore Count residents. Falls Road Animal Hospital is open for all emergencies, including boarding, should there be power outages. Falls Road has been plowed and is accessible from Jones Falls Expressway (JFX) and I-695. Six pet emergencies have come in thus far.

From Liz Bowie, reporting from Riderwood

Russell Brown with a hefty duty snow blower and a big pick up truck was the only one in his Riderwood neighborhood who had a somewhat clean driveway. He had customers who wanted his help, but after heading out and starting to get stuck Friday morning, he decided it would be better to go home and work on his own property.

"I got to help myself before I can help someone else," he said, turning away from his snow blower to talk. "It has definitely been a nasty one, and I have done them all since 1996," he said.

Brown said he would rather be out hunting, but he knew he would never get to the blind. He was hoping roads would be a little better plowed tomorrow so he could get to his customers..

West Joppa Road, with about six inches of snow on it, had been plowed, but there was no traffic at all. The road was eerily quiet with only the sound of traffic lights swinging back and forth.

Few people were out of their houses, and those that were had sleds or snowblowers.