Many residents seemed to be caught off guard by Sunday's storm, a fast-moving ``clipper'' that dropped 4 to 5 inches of snow on much of the state. That's a high snow total for a clipper, said National Weather Service meteorologist Christopher Strong.
``The majority of them pass through without giving more than a few flakes,'' he said.
Two women were killed and an 11-year-old girl was critically injured in an accident Sunday in Montgomery County, north of Washington, D.C. Another woman was killed in Washington County, in western Maryland, when her car skidded off a road and hit a tree, state police said.
The Beltway accident left one man with a broken leg, but the other injuries were minor, said Maryland State Trooper Shayna O'Neal.
Montgomery County fire spokesman Pete Piringer said workers responded to 40 to 50 wrecks an hour during most of Sunday morning and early afternoon. Patches of ice made overpasses, ramps and bridges especially dangerous, said David Buck, spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration.
``I think people are lulled into a false sense that it's just a wet road,'' he said. ``I think they're thinking they can go as fast as they want to go, and that's just not the case.''
