Climate & environment

When Maryland’s acting state parks Superintendent Angela Crenshaw visits parks, she goes over a few rules with staff members. Be nice. Be safe. Keep body to self.

As the water from Ophelia recedes, my attention turns to the trees, particularly 12 mature trees surrounding my house at the end of Annapolis Neck jutting out into the Chesapeake Bay.

A tree also fell on tracks at a light rail station in Baltimore. The flooding was minimal and one official even said the storm was "uneventful."

Baltimore and neighboring counties are under flood watch through Sunday morning

The storm is expected to bring high winds of up to 50 mph and heavy bands of rain to Maryland.

In the Baltimore region, the threat of the storm led organizers to cancel a number of events, including Saturday’s schedule at Artscape, horse racing at Pimlico Race Course, the Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival in Annapolis and the Trifecta Food Truck & Music Festival in Timonium.

Weather stations will be used to track wind, radiation, humidity, precipitation, surface pressure, temperature and other data that can be used to develop climate solutions.

The National Weather Service issued a Tropical Storm Warning for Worcester, Somerset, Wicomico, Dorchester, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties from Friday morning until further notice.

Annapolis unveiled its long-awaited design for a maritime welcome center Wednesday, part of an $88 million reimagining of its waterfront public square to protect the historic city from rising seas and climate change. It now faces an ambitious timeline and uncertain public response.

Total precipitation could reach an inch and a half on Saturday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Stuck.

Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz explained in a legislative hearing on Sept. 20, 2023 that he has undertaken reforms to change the culture in the state’s troubled park service.

Significant portions of Maryland are either under a drought watch or drought warning, the Maryland Department of the Environment said Wednesday.

The threats posed by extreme weather have created challenges for operators of passenger and freight rail lines.

Jason Groth, the acting director of the county’s Department of Planning and Growth Management, is paraphrased as saying the county will “hit a point within a decade where it doesn’t have enough water.” But the situation is much more nuanced, Groth told the Banner.

The showers and possible thunderstorms forecast for the Baltimore area Sunday are expected to pass through as the Orioles play a pivotal game and local festivals conclude.

President Joe Biden can take three steps — on tax credits, revenue sharing and permits — to help the nascent wind industry deal with challenges like inflation, supply chain and other issues, according to the letter Wednesday from Gov. Wes Moore and the governors of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Heavy rain pelted the Baltimore region late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, causing flash flooding that trapped some motorists.

It can be hard to distinguish between real danger and overhyped warnings in the media. But yes, Maryland does experience tropical storms and hurricanes. Isabel, which hit 20 years ago this month, is hard to forget.

Energy advocates say retail energy companies are fleecing low-income communities of color in cities like Baltimore.

About 75% of the monitoring wells around Maryland have seen water levels drop over the last 40 years, some by as much as 100 feet, according to an investigation from The New York Times.