Heavy Snow — New Castle, Delaware

2015-03-05 · New Castle, Delaware

Wider weather episode

Waves of low pressure that formed along a sinking cold front brought Delaware its heaviest snow of the season on the 5th. Snowfall averaged 4 to 8 inches with the highest amounts in New Castle County and the lowest amounts on coastal Sussex County. The heavy snow caused schools and universities to close as well as most government offices. It forced the cancellation of many other meetings and activities as well as causing numerous traffic accidents. Many schools were also closed on the 6th.

Precipitation with this event started as rain on the 4th. As colder air moved in from the north and precipitation intensity increased, the rain changed to all snow on the 5th in New Castle County between 5 a.m. EST and 8 a.m. EST, in Kent County between 8 a.m. EST and 11 a.m. EST and in Sussex County between 11 a.m. EST and 1 p.m. EST. The transition to all snow in Kent and Sussex Counties included a period of sleet. The snow fell heavy at times during the late morning and afternoon before it ended during the first half of the evening on the 5th.

Delaware State Police responded to about 160 traffic accidents, 23 with injuries as well as about 90 disabled vehicles. DART bus service was suspended. A Code Purple to assist the homeless was in effect. Impacts continued on the 6th as county offices and courthouses opened late. DART had to suspend some bus routes. Because of the large number of snow days, some school districts will need to extend the school year.

Representative snowfall included 8.2 inches in Pike Creek (New Castle County), 7.3 inches in Woodside (Kent County), 6.7 inches in Newport (New Castle County), 6.2 inches at the New Castle County Airport, 6.1 inches in Ellendale (Sussex County). 5.2 inches in Dover (Kent County), 4.8 inches in Harrington (Kent County), 4.0 inches in Seaford (Sussex County) and 3.3 inches in Lewes (Sussex County).

The cold front moved through Delaware on the evening of the 4th. The wave of low pressure on the front was in the Tennessee Valley at that time. At 7 a.m. EST on the 5th, it reached western North Carolina and at 1 p.m. EST on the 5th, the strongest low pressure system wave was near Wilmington, North Carolina. Waves of low pressure continued to sink father south and at 7 p.m. EST on the 5th, the strongest wave was over central South Carolina. That wave and the associated cold front continued to move farther to the southeast that evening bringing an end to the snow in Delaware. The fresh snow cover and clear skies that occurred overnight led to a new daily low temperature record on March 6th at the New Castle County Airport of 5 degrees above zero. This broke the previous daily record set in 1926 by a full six degrees.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 565196. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.