CUMBERLAND — Even as residents and road crews continue to dig out from the weekend’s wintry blast, another storm is rolling toward the region, threatening more snow as early as Tuesday.

The incoming storm could blanket the Cumberland area in another 6 to 10 inches of snow and drop more than a foot of snow in higher elevations nearby, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alan Reppert.

“The next storm is just going to add insult to injury,” said Tim Thomas, a local observer for the National Weather Service. He also said temperatures are expected to remain near freezing Tuesday and drop even lower through the week.

That’s harsh news for a region recovering from a 30-hour-long storm that froze travel to a halt, downed trees and power lines and challenged emergency services and maintenance crews.

Cumberland was blanketed in about 24 inches of snow from Friday morning to about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Thomas. As of 9 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service reported accumulations of 36 inches in Frostburg, 24 inches in Westernport, and in West Virginia, 29.2 inches in Keyser and 33 inches in Romney. Unofficial measurements of as much as 40 inches were reported in parts of Garrett County.

Cumberland officials opened city parking garages to residents from Friday afternoon to 9 p.m. Sunday, hoping to encourage off-street parking while road crews tried to clear the streets. City Administrator Jeff Repp said Sunday that snow removal efforts could continue through the week.

“The nearly 30 inches of snow in some areas will require the patience of city residents, as the Public Works Department begins efforts in opening over 300 miles of city streets,” Repp said in a statement issued Sunday morning. He said the city’s first goal is to clear one lane for travel on all streets.

“Widening of the travel lanes will take place when basic travel is obtained city-wide,” Repp said. “Residents' patience is requested to deal with this event.”

In addition to its own equipment, the city hired private contractors to help with snow removal, trying to open up downtown parking in time for people arriving to work Monday morning.

By Sunday afternoon, several area schools had already announced closure for Monday, including Allegany County public schools, Hardy County public schools, Hampshire County public schools, Berkeley County public schools and Mineral County public schools. Mineral County schools also announced closure for Tuesday.

The deep snows and freezing temperatures hampered rescue efforts in several weekend emergencies, including a Saturday night fire that destroyed a home in the Sunrise Heights section of Fort Ashby.

“We got the equipment pretty close, but we were still hindered by the snow and later by the extreme cold,” said Fort Ashby Fire Chief Greg Long. “We had several pieces of equipment that froze up.”

More than a dozen fire and EMS companies responded to the 9 p.m. fire. The home was a total loss, but there were no reported injuries, Long said.

In Mineral County, firefighters in Wiley Ford struggled to reach a 5 a.m. flue fire on Saturday because of the deep snow.

“There was just no way to get through,” said Wiley Ford Fire Chief Terry Ashenfelter. “We had to walk about 400 yards to get to it carrying the ladders and equipment.”

Ashenfelter said the damage in that fire, which occurred at a home on the extension of Clearview Avenue, was limited to the flue, and there were no reported injuries.

The Mount Savage Volunteer Fire Department and volunteers from the Allegany County Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security’s collapse team responded to a barn collapse on Bald Knob Road in Mount Savage over the weekend that was presumed to be caused by the weight of the snow accumulation on the barn roof.

The barn, owned by dairy farmer Ed Crossland, collapsed on an unknown number of dairy cattle, but collapse team volunteer Sam Wilson said there were no reported injuries to people or livestock.

The Mineral County 911 center and West Virginia state police reported a crash at noon Saturday on U.S. Route 220 south that involved two National Guard Humvees. Three people were transported for medical treatment following the crash, police confirmed, but no further information was available.

Thousands of Allegheny Power customers were without electricity Friday and Saturday due to the storm, but by Sunday night most of the customers in Allegany, Garrett, Mineral, Somerset and Bedford counties had come back online. At about 6 p.m. The utility reported 281 customers still without power in Mineral County, most in Ridgeley, Fort Ashby, Keyser and Burlington. But in Bedford County electricity had been restored to hundreds of customers in the Hyndman area, where more than 1,500 were without power for most of Friday and Saturday due to trouble with the main line.

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