Shop Talk:Christmas Eve

In observance of Christmas Eve,the normal business post for Monday nights will not be published.
Northern Maryland received about 2 inches of snow Monday afternoon and evening,ensuring a relatively rare White Christmas-considered highly desirable by many Americans.More wintry weather is expected for Christmas night through Wednesday night.
Liberty Mountain Resort in Southcentral Pennsylvania had been making snow Sunday night,and Monday's natural snow will greatly enhance the opening of their ski trails.
Christmas Eve highway traffic was light to moderate.
Retailers reported brisk bargain hunting on the final day of the shopping season.
Happy Christmas,dear readers,if you are celebrating.Russia will celebrate Christmas on January 7.

High Winds Blast Trucks

High winds from a storm pummeling the East coast knocked several tractor trailers on their sides in Northern Maryland this morning.U.S. 15 South was closed while authorities dealt with the matter,halting traffic for several minutes.Truck drivers are routinely warned during wind storms,but this morning's toll was exceptionally heavy as winds were gusting up to 60 miles an hour.Small cars can be tossed around as well.It was the latest event in an historically harsh winter.Although there were bursts of snow in the area,the roads were only wet this morning. A motorist in a sedan narrowly escaped injury as he braked sharply when he came upon the stalled traffic,spinning onto the median,but somehow managing to recover and rejoin the queue.It may have been inattention or simply the topography of the route as it courses through the foothills of the Northern Blue Ridge,providing limited lines of sight in some stretches.