Winter Storm — Inland Sussex, Delaware

2014-01-02 to 2014-01-03 · Inland Sussex, Delaware

Wider weather episode

A winter storm dropped 4 to 8 inches of snow across Delaware from the late afternoon of the 2nd into the morning of the 3rd. This caused hazardous traveling conditions for the evening commute on the 2nd and the morning commute on the 3rd. Even after the snow ended, gusty northwest winds that continued through the day on the 3rd caused considerable blowing and drifting of the snow and made it difficult for road crews to keep roadways snow-free. After one day of classes after the winter break, many schools were closed again on the 3rd. In addition, many city, county and state offices as well as some businesses were also closed on the 3rd. The strong winds that occurred along the Sussex County coast helped cause minor tidal flooding. The combination of snow and wind caused more than 7,000 Delmarva Power and Light and Delaware Electric Cooperative customers to lose power. Most power was restored by Noon EST on the 3rd. The strong winds on the 3rd were also problematical as they caused considerable blowing and drifting of the snow. Delaware State Police reported over 100 traffic accidents and around 150 disabled vehicles. In New Castle County, at the height of the storm many major roadways were down to having just one lane open. In Kent County, Millington Road (Delaware State Route 6) in Clayton, Brenford Road in Smyrna and Whitehall neck Road in East Dover Hundred were closed. In Sussex County, downed wires closed Hardscrabble Road between Seaford and Millsboro. Several roads in the northern part of the county were impassable on the morning of the 3rd.

Precipitation started during the late afternoon of the 2nd. It started as snow in New Castle County, briefly as rain in Kent County and as rain in Sussex County. In Sussex County, the rain changed to sleet and then quickly to snow during the middle of the evening. The snow fell at a fairly steady rate through the night and ended from the southwest part of Sussex County to the northeast part of New Castle County between 4 a.m. EST and 7 a.m. EST on the 3rd. Representative snowfall totals included 7.5 inches in Woodside (Kent County), 7.2 inches in Townsend (New Castle County), 6.8 inches in Milton (Sussex County), 6.4 inches in Prices Corner (New Castle County), 6.2 inches in Dover (Kent County) and Newark (New Castle County), 6.0 inches at the New Castle County Airport and 4.8 inches in Stockley (Sussex County). Peak wind gusts on the 3rd included 51 mph in Lewes (Sussex County), 43 mph at the New Castle County Airport and 37 mph at Dover Air Force Base.

Widespread minor tidal flooding occurred with the morning high tide on the 3rd in Sussex County and parts of Kent County. In Sussex County, Slaughter Beach Road and Bay Avenue were both flooded. The high tide at Breakwater Harbor in Sussex County reached 6.82 feet above mean lower low water on the morning of the 3rd. Minor tidal flooding starts at 6.0 feet above mean lower low water and moderate tidal flooding starts at 7.0 feet above mean lower low water.

The winter storm was caused by a rapidly intensifying low pressure system. The low was moving through the Ohio River Valley on the morning of the 2nd. Meanwhile an arctic high pressure system near Montreal supplied an ample supply of fresh cold air. At 1 p.m. EST that afternoon, the low pressure system reached West Virginia. From there, it reformed farther to the southeast and was over northern North Carolina at 7 p.m. EST that evening and passed east of Elizabeth City, North Carolina around 9 p.m. EST. Once it reached the coast, it started to intensify rapidly as it moved eastnortheast. The low pressure system went from 998 millibars at 10 p.m. EST on the 2nd to 981 millibars located at 40 degrees north latitude and 65 degrees west longitude at 7 a.m. EST on the 3rd.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 494821. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.