DORCHESTER COUNTY, Md. - Days after last weekend’s winter storm moved through Dorchester County, snow, ice and bitter cold are still holding on, especially in small waterfront communities where daily life and local work remain closely tied to the weather.
From Toddville to Church Creek, neighbors say icy roads and freezing temperatures are making it harder to get around and slowing business across the region.
David Beverley, who owns Elijah’s General Store in Toddville, said the challenges on the water quickly ripple through the entire community.
“If the watermen aren't making money, then we're not making money,” Beverley said. “So basically everything down here is interconnected.”
Beverley added that the lingering ice has made travel difficult for many in the community.
“Well, the ice is obviously inconvenient for everybody and some local residents down here. Their vehicles have had so much ice on them.”
Watermen like Bobby Patterson say the freezing temperatures are taking a toll on both their work and equipment.
“It affects everything,” Patterson told WBOC. “It affects your body, it affects the boat. In the next few days, we're supposed to be getting down at night – getting down in the single digits. It's going to make the ice even harder out there. It's not good for anything, really.”
At Gootee’s Marine in Church Creek, preparations were made ahead of the storm, but cleanup and cold conditions continue to impact operations. Philip Gootee shoveled snow and ice in his parking lot.
“We knew it was coming,” Gootee said. “So we put a lot of boats inside to work on. So they have some work to do inside…but you still had to clean up and we got all the boats out of the water…because they were going to really freeze up solid.”
For others, the combination of snow and ice has made recovery slower than usual.
“It was snow, then ice, and then we had a layer of snow on top of it, which is making it very hard for clean up,” Evan Adams said.
With below-freezing temperatures expected to continue, neighbors say it may still be several days before conditions fully improve across Dorchester County.