(Wednesday) Road Closings Continue in Howard County Due to Flooding

For Thursday's road closures, refer to this .

Updated at 8:23 p.m. on Wednesday

The Bain Center Shelter for people affected by the flood has closed at 8 p.m. today. Also, as of 8 p.m., 12 county roads are still closed.

At the height of flooding today, more than 20 roads were closed.

County officials are urging residents not to drive through flooded areas, to stay away from downed power lines, and to be on the look out for snakes.

"Animals lose their homes in floods, too," county officials wrote in a press release. "They may seek shelter in yours."

Updated at 7:12 p.m.

The following roads are closed in Howard County:

• South Entrance Road at Route 29
• Main Street (Rogers to Ellicott Mills)
• Rt. 103 at Roosevelt
• Rt. 103 at Meadowridge
• Summercrest at Orchard
• New Cut Road at Bonnie Branch
• Woodland Road (from middle of road off of Old Annapolis Road to Centennial Park entrance)
• River Road under viaduct (DNR opening gates)
• Furnace Avenue at Race Road
• Stephens Road closed at Meadowflowers
• Route 29 at Broken Land Parkway
• Route 29 SB at South Entrance
• Levering Avenue at the viaduct
• Route 1 at Crestmount
• Carlinda Avenue at Allvew
• Frederick Road from Ellicott Mills Road at Rogers Avenue (temporarily closed, waiting for front end loader to remove debris)

Updated at 4:55 p.m.

The following is an updated list of closed roads in Howard County:

Main Street-Ellicott City (between Baltimore County line and Columbia Pike)

Frederick Road (Route 144)-at Rogers Avenue

Frederick Road (Route 144) - Toll House to Dunloggin Road

South Entrance Road at Route 29

Rt. 103 at Roosevelt

Rt. 103 at Meadowridge

Meadowridge at Cemetery

Rt. 108 at Thunder Hill

Summercrest at Orchard

Little Patuxent Parkway at Wincopin

Lime Kiln at Reservoir

Oakland Mills at Homespun

New Cut Road at Bonnie Branch

Woodland Road (from Middle of the road off of Old Annapolis Road to Centennial Park entrance)

River Road under viaduct (DNR opening gates)

Furnace Avenue at Race Road

Dorsey Run Road at Bridge

Mary's Lane-Guilford

Old Columbia Road near Dog Kennel

Route 29 SB at South Entrance

Woodside Road at Route 108

Updated at 3:26 p.m.

The following roads in Howard County that were listed as closed are now open:

Route 40 at St. John's Lane

Updated at 2:48 p.m.

Howard County school officials are warning parents that buses could be delayed from flooding and road closures this afternoon.

Buses that cannot safely pass or drop off students at their assigned bus stops due to flooding will return students to their schools, according to a press release.

Parents of any bus riders returned to schools will be notified.

Also, Howard County schools will dismiss at scheduled times, although all evening activities including back-to-school nights are canceled. Columbia Association and Recreation and Parks aftercare programs will go on as scheduled.

Middle and elementary school walkers will be held at schools and dismissed according to directions that specify who can pick them if if their parents cannot.

Parents are asked to pick up elementary and middle school walkers as soon as possible. Walkers from Dunloggin, Folly Quarter, Glenwood, Mount View and Patuxent Valley middle schools have already been released, school officials said.

Updated at 2:07 p.m.

There are 26 road closures in Howard County as of 1:30 p.m., according to Howard County officials. Those are:

Route 40 at Normandy Shopping Center

Route 40 at North Chatham Road

Route 40 at Rogers Avenue

Route 40 at St. Johns Lane

Main Street-Ellicott City (between Baltimore County line and Columbia Pike)

Frederick Road (Route 144)-at Rogers Avenue

Frederick Road (Route 144) - Toll House to Dunloggin Road

South Entrance Road at Route 29

Athol Avenue-closed-Highway is opening up the back entrance to the community

Rt. 103 at Roosevelt

Rt. 103 at Meadowridge

3938 St. Johns Lane

Rt. 108 at Thunder Hill

Summercrest at Orchard

Stevens Forest at Broken Land Parkway

Little Patuxent Parkway at Wincopin

Limikiln at Reservoir

Rt. 1 at Patuxent

29 NB at Hopkins

29 NB at Diamondback Drive

Oakland Mills at Homespun

New Cut Road at Bonnie Branch

Mission Road at Guilford Road

Rogers Avenue at Town and Country Blvd

Brookemede Road

Landing Road

Updated at 1:36 p.m.

Howard County officials are reporting that parts of historic Ellicott City has been evacuated.

The 8300 block of Main Street was evacuated sometime around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, said county spokeswoman Sam O'Neil.

The Bain Center in Columbia has opened to serve as an emergency shelter for those displaced by the storm, she said.

Also, Howard County has activated its Emergency Operations Center, a clearinghouse for emergency personnel to respond to incidents related to thunderstorms and flooding this afternoon.

Emergency officials will talk with the Howard County school district this afternoon to determine how the storm will impact bus routes.

Updated at 12:40 p.m.

Police and fire officials are responding to a flurry of calls related to thunderstorms today, including a lightning strike to a home in Fulton and several flooded roads and residences.

Howard County Fire Department Spokeswoman Jackie Cutler said fire officials thus far have responded to reports of a “light smoke haze” in the basement of a two-story single family home on the 8200 block of Hunterbrooke Lane in Fulton, which, preliminarily, officials are attributing to a lightning strike. 

Fire officials were also responding to at least 10 calls over the noon hour, most in the Columbia area, which were reports of flooded basements or water overflowing in residences, Cutler said around noon Wednesday.

The fire department also sent its swift water rescue team to respond to someone whose car was trapped on eastern Baltimore National Parkway at the intersection of North Chatham Road.

Howard County Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Schroen is urging residents not to drive through moving water.

She said there are about a dozen roads county-wide that have standing or moving water. Several callers to the police department have reported vehicles getting stuck in water or trying to drive through moving water, she said.

There was one report of a vehicle that spun out on Maryland Route 32 in Clarksville at 11:43 a.m.; there were no injuries, Schroen said.

The most traveled affected locations by the storms – as of 12:18 p.m. are:

Cedar Lane at Little Patuxent Parkway

Stevens Forest Road at Brokenland Parkway

Rt. 40 at North Chatham Road

Strong thunderstorms are traveling a line extending from Jessup to Columbia, moving north at 30 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service alert released at 11:46 a.m.

There is also a flash flood warning for much of the area, including eastern Howard County until 2:30 p.m.

The storms are producing frequent cloud to ground lightning, and the Weather Service is urging people to move indoors.

“If you hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning,” according to weather warnings.

Heavy rain with the storms could reduce visibility on roads to below one mile. Wind gusts between 40 and 50 miles per hour can be expected with these storms.