BALTIMORE — Eastern Shore residents continued digging out Tuesday, as thousands remained without power after what some were calling the worst blizzard in decades.

Most major roads were clear of snow and ice, but utility crews and municipal workers were still dealing with downed trees and limbs that fell under the weight of heavy, wet snow and high winds Sunday night into Monday morning.

Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties appeared to be hardest hit, with thousands still without power across the Lower Shore.

Delmarva Power reported 624 outage locations affecting nearly 10,000 customers Tuesday morning, while Choptank Electric Cooperative reported more than 5,000 outages — almost all in Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties.

Katie Luckett, a communications manager for Choptank, said initial outages topped 22,000 customers, or roughly 40% of its service area.

Luckett said most outages were caused by “the heavy snow and wind breaking poles and knocking limbs onto our lines. Crews are having to cut down trees to access the damage.”

“There are trees and damage that are currently being worked on, as well as broken parts being replaced all day by Choptank and fifty-plus linemen from other utilities who are here to help,” she said.

She said Choptank hopes to restore power to all customers by Wednesday.

“It’s been decades since I’ve seen a blizzard like this,” Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said Tuesday. “The roads are certainly improving by the minute. No major incidents overnight and nothing going on this morning. We are hopeful that conditions will dramatically improve today.”

Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano was among those who lost power. She said the Wicomico Civic Center was operating as a warming station during the day and as an overnight shelter, though most residents appeared to be staying home and waiting out the outages.

Chris Hopkins, a spokesperson for Somerset County Emergency Services, said about 2,000 residents remained without power Tuesday morning, but there were no major accidents overnight.

Worcester County Sheriff Matt Crisafulli said conditions remained challenging Tuesday, with officials “still dealing with some minor traffic obstructions like branches and trees sporadically throughout the county.”

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said power was restored Tuesday morning after roughly 1,000 homes and businesses lost service at the height of the storm.

Meehan said the storm created some of the toughest conditions in recent memory.

“I’ve seen more snow, going back in 30 years, maybe, but that was a powdery snow,” he said. “This kind of snow really plays havoc with power lines in particular.

“There were some areas that really didn’t get power until this morning … but Delmarva Power was very responsive and they were down on Second Street working on getting power back for everybody,” Meehan continued. “I don’t think it was for a lack of effort. I think it just took some time to get some of those specific areas back online.”

Meehan said Ocean City Public Works crews, working through Emergency Management and the city manager’s office, cleared roads early.

“They were all staged to come in Sunday evening and pretty much worked through the night,” he said. “They do a great job and it’s in some very uncomfortable conditions, but we were able to really get ahead of it and I think that really made a big difference in Ocean City.”

Meehan also credited Gov. Wes Moore with coordinating state support.

“I did get a call from the governor yesterday, just to make sure that we were getting the help that we needed,” Meehan said. “He was aware of problems we were having with Delmarva Power, and they had reached out to Delmarva Power as well. So, it was a coordinated effort and I want to thank the governor for reaching out and for being part of the process.”

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