((7:30 a.m. Wednesday UPDATE: City and surrounding county schools will be closed today. Some government offices will be closed – especially in the Washington, D.C., area – and  liberal leave policy has been instituted for non-essential state, federal and Baltimore City employees.))

It’s just been announced that the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be activated at 10:00 p.m. tonight to coordinate response and recovery operations if Baltimore gets socked with a late-winter storm.

Forecasts call for up to 6 inches of wet, heavy snow and high winds overnight and tomorrow, which may lead to power outages, downed wires and streets blocked with debris.

A winter storm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for the Baltimore-Washington area beginning at 6 p.m.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is urging motorists to exercise extreme caution tonight and residents to stay inside during the storm and have enough food and drinking water available for at least 48 hours.

For properties susceptible to flooding, try to keep storm drains as clean as possible.

Residents with specific medical needs should contact their health care providers for appropriate backup and reach out to family, friends or neighbors should they need any help during the storm.

Here’s link for more snow info:
http://snow.baltimorecity.gov/.

BGE Says it is Prepared

BGE says it has made preparations for the storm, which is expected to sweep across the Northeast from Virginia to New England.

To report downed lines or leaking gas, call 1-877-778-2222 or go to www.bge.com, which is accessible by mobile phone.

To report BGE EMERGENCIES 800-685-0123 (option 1) for gas or downed power lines.

For non-emergency city services, call 311. Emergencies should be reported by calling 911.

((From an email we received, City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke offers this snow emergency contact info for 14th District people: call her at 410-294-3022 (cell) or 410-396-4814 (o).))