Just when we'd gotten rid of the snow pack from the Dec. 18-19 snowstorm, Mother Nature dropped another two inches across much of the region this morning. Accumulations were little more than 2 inches from Baltimore north and west, with only a fraction of that to the south and east. Here's a sampling from CoCoRaHS:

Sykesville, Howard Co.:  2.7 inches

Towson: Baltimore Co.:  2.5 inches

Columbia, Howard Co.:  2.2 inches

Kingsville, Harford Co.:  2.1 inches

Jarrettsville, Harford Co.:  2.0 inches

Hamilton, Baltimore City:  2.0 inches

Mount Airy, Carroll Co.:  1.5 inches

Severn, Anne Arundel Co.:  0.3 inch

Bowie, Prince Geeorge's Co.:  0.1 inch

It wasn't much, but it seems to have fallen on cold pavement, with most of the old salt washed away by Christmas rains. The result was a slippery snow pack that hardened to ice beneath the weight of morning traffic.

North Charles and St. Paul streets were alternately snow-covered, icy or slushy this morning along much of their northern ranges. In the county, too, it looked like road crews got a late start at salting and plowing the rutty slush to the side.

There were lots of reports of early accidents. But if you cut your speeds and started braking early before lights and intersections, the commute (mine, at least) did not seem terribly problematic. Light traffic, with schools, some government offices and and businesses closed, certainly helped. Feel free to comment on road conditions and your commuting experience this morning.

Temperatures have moved up through the melting point again, and forecasters out at Sterling expect any further precipitation today will fall as rain or sleet. The highs should reach 40 degrees. More rain showers are possible tonight, and could threaten the fireworks displays. But that should end sometime Friday morning, with a chance we'll see sunshine before the afternoon is out on New Year's Day.

Then we're headed back into the freezer. Lows Friday night into Saturday will drop to the mid-20s. The highs Saturday into the middle of next week will remain stuck in the 30s, and lows overnight will fall back to near 20 degrees.

(SUN PHOTO/East Lombard Street/Jed Kirschbaum/Dec. 31, 2009)