Flash Flood — New Castle, Delaware
2011-08-27 to 2011-08-28 · near Milford Xrds, New Castle, Delaware
Wider weather episode
Hurricane Irene produced heavy flooding rain, widespread tropical storm force wind gusts, a confirmed tornado near Lewes in Sussex County, moderate to severe coastal flooding and beach erosion and caused two flooding related deaths, forced evacuations near the coast over the weekend of August 27th and 28th in Delaware. About 100,000 people were evacuated from the Atlantic Coast. Numerous roadways were flooded and closed and thousands of trees were knocked down. About 100,000 utility customers lost power. In addition, chickens were killed by flooding and agricultural crops were damaged by the flooding. Delaware received federal disaster declaration.
Tropical storm force wind gusts overspread Delaware during the afternoon of the 27th and persisted through the afternoon of the 28th. Peak wind gusts averaged around 60 mph. The strongest winds associated with Irene occurred at two distinct times. The first surge occurred during bands of heavier rain during the evening of the 27th. The second peak occurred during the late morning and early afternoon of the 28th when skies were clearing and deeper mixing of the atmosphere brought stronger winds to the ground. The rain associated with Irene overspread the state between 7 a.m. EDT and Noon EDT on the 27th, fell at its heaviest from the late afternoon of the 27th into the early morning of the 28th and ended around Noon EDT on the 28th. Event precipitation totals averaged 5 to 12 inches and caused widespread and in some instances record breaking flooding. Because the flash flooding and flooding blended into one, all stormdata flooding related county entries were combined into one under flood events. The storm surge of 3 to 4 feet caused minor to moderate tidal flooding along tidal sections of the Delaware River and in Upper Delaware Bay and moderate to severe tidal flooding along lower Delaware Bay and along the coast during the evening high tide cycle on the 27th. The winds shifted to the northwest during the morning high tide cycle on the 28th.
Governor Jack Markell ordered visitors to evacuate the Delaware beaches effective 6 pm EDT on August 25th. In addition, a state of emergency was declared and shelters were opened throughout the state on August 26th. Driving restrictions were in place. Mandatory evacuations of approximately one hundred thousand tourists and residents occurred, including special populations, began on Thursday, August 25th. The Cape May'Lewes Ferry suspended service for August 27th and 28th. Toll operations on Delaware State Route 1 were halted. Transit services were shut down on August 27th and 28th, while most of the bridges over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and the Indian River were closed due to the wind.
About 100,000 utility customers lost power at the peak of the storm. Power was not fully restored until August 31st. Schools were dismissed early on Friday the 26th and remained closed through the duration of the event. The state highway department reported over two hundred roads under water. Seven bridges sustained structural damage. At least thirty-seven homes and businesses sustained major damage or were destroyed. Extensive damage occurred to the six state maintained beaches as severe beach erosion and dune breaches occurred. The combination of heavy rain and severe tidal flooding washed out Prime Hook Road along Delaware Bay in Cedar Creek Hundred (Sussex County). In Kent County, tidal flooding occurred along Kitts Hummock Road as well as along Bowers Beach.
The highest wind gusts recorded during Hurricane Irene were 66 mph in Lewes (Sussex County), 64 mph in Dewey Beach (Sussex County), 60 mph in Georgetown (Sussex County), 57 mph in Wilmington (New Castle County), and 52 mph in Dover (Kent County). The highest tides included 8.20 feet above mean lower low water at Breakwater Harbor in Sussex County (severe flooding starts at 8.0 feet above mean lower low water) and 8.03 feet above mean lower low water at Reedy Island in New Castle County. Minor tidal flooding at Reedy starts at 7.2 feet above mean lower low water.
Hurricane Irene formed east of the Leeward Islands on Saturday the 20th. It moved northeast and passed over Puerto Rico overnight on the 21st. As Irene moved off the island, it intensified into a hurricane. Irene just bypassed the island of Hispaniola to its north and then passed over the Eastern Bahamas on the 25th as it reached category three hurricane strength. From the Bahamas, Irene moved nearly due north and slowly weakened to a category two hurricane on the 26th and a category one hurricane on the 27th. Irene made her initial landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina at 8 a.m. EDT on the 27th and then proceeded to the northnortheast and went back over the Atlantic Ocean near the Virginia and North Carolina border at 7 p.m. EDT on the 27th. Irene then paralleled the Delmarva Peninsula and the center passed about 15 miles east of Delaware between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. EDT on the 28th. Irene made her second landfall as a tropical storm on Brigantine Island, just north of Atlantic City, New Jersey at 535 a.m. EDT on the 28th. From there the center of Irene moved along eastern parts of Ocean and Monmouth Counties and was located near Tinton Falls Township in Monmouth County at 8 a.m. EDT on the 28th. At about 9 a.m. EDT the center of Irene passed over New York City.
View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.7250, -75.7862)
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 343042. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.