High winds close Bay Bridge, cause thousands of power outages across Baltimore region

Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, The Baltimore Sun on Feb 16, 2025

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More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without power across the Baltimore region as strong, damaging winds gusting up to 60 mph damage power lines, down trees, topple poles and more.

According to Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., outages map, as of 6:30 p.m. Sunday, there were 24,667 customers without power in Anne Arundel; 15,288 in Baltimore City; 31,049 in Baltimore County; 8,856 in Carroll County; 8,237 in Harford County; and 15,906 in Howard County.

BGE is adding crews to deal with the damage, the utility said in a news release Sunday evening.

“Removing tree debris must be completed before crews can begin working on repairing damaged equipment. This is a labor- and time-intensive process which can extend the duration of certain outages,” BGE said in the release.

As of 6 p.m., BGE said over 118,000 customers were without power, requiring 1,500 jobs to restore service in locations across central Maryland.

“BGE will begin restoring service as soon as it is safe to do so,” the utility said, noting that some repairs cannot be made while winds are still at peak, including those involving the use of bucket trucks.

A high wind advisory remains in effect for the Baltimore region until 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. However, the potential for wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph may continue through Monday, forecasters said.

As of Sunday afternoon, the high winds had downed a mix of power and communication lines in five areas in Anne Arundel County, according to the county police and fire departments. The Maryland State Highway Administration said trees were down at multiple locations.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is closed due to winds exceeding 55 mph, the Maryland Transportation Authority said around 4:30 p.m.

According to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department and a post on X from the county’s police department, power lines are down in numerous locations.

These fast winds, expected to persist throughout most of the week, are part of a winter storm system that is forecast to bring excessive rainfall, severe thunderstorms and winter weather to much of the East Coast.

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