Flash Flood — New Castle, Delaware

1999-09-16 to 1999-09-17 · near Countywide, New Castle, Delaware

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Floyd battered Delaware (especially New Castle County) on September 16th and brought with it torrential rains and damaging winds. The hurricane caused widespread flash flooding as storm totals averaged around nine inches, most of which fell in a twelve hour period from the early morning through the afternoon on the 16th. Two girls (an eleven-year-old and a twelve-year-old) drowned when they were swept into a 1,500 foot culvert in Red Lion (New Castle County) during the afternoon of the 16th. An 8-year-old girl who was with them managed to pull herself from the culvert. These were the first hurricane related deaths in the state since Hazel in 1954. The highest verifiable storm total was 10.58 inches in Greenwood (Sussex County). This established a new 24 hour state record. A number of other stations also broke the old state record of 7.83 inches set on June 27, 1938 including the New Castle County Airport (8.29 inches). Based on Doppler Radar storm totals estimate the heaviest rain fell across southern New Castle County. The torrential downpours associated with Hurricane Floyd exceeded the 100-year-flood return period for New Castle County as record crests were set on many rivers and streams. Hundreds of roads and bridges were closed. About 300 people were evacuated to shelters, mainly in New Castle and Sussex Counties. Two people were seriously injured. Dozens more were rescued from trapped vehicles. The combination of winds funneling into Delaware Bay and the runoff from inland waterways produced minor tidal flooding at the times of high tide in New Castle and Kent Counties. The highest wind gusts in most areas were less than 60 mph. But, the combination of the heavy rain that loosened the ground and the persistence of the strong winds uprooted hundreds of trees across the state, especially in the wooded areas of New Castle County. About 25,000 homes and businesses lost power. Power was restored by the 19th. A state of emergency was declared on the 16th and all schools were closed. The preliminary damage estimate was 8.42 million dollars. President Clinton declared New Castle County a disaster area. Hurricane Floyd began as a Cape Verde type hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles. As Floyd moved west, it passed to the north of and spared both the Greater and Lesser Antilles. Floyd intensified into a Category IV (Major) Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Floyd was also a large sized hurricane that prolonged both the torrential rain and high winds. Floyd was heading for Florida before a turn to the northwest spared the state, but Floyd battered the Bahamas. The anticipated turn to the north and the northeast occurred on the 15th as Floyd was heading for North Carolina. Another important synoptic feature was a cold front that was over West Virginia on the 14th. This front stalled just west of Chesapeake Bay on the 15th. The stalled front not only failed to push offshore an already tropical and humid air mass that was over the state, but also acted as a conduit for the tropical moisture associated with Floyd. The moisture headed west toward the front and then rode north along the boundary. Light rain associated with Floyd started in the state on the 15th. The torrential rain associated with Floyd arrived just after midnight on the 16th and reached northern Delaware by 5 a.m. EDT. Floyd was still offshore south of North Carolina. Floyd made its initial landfall during the early morning hours of the 16th at the Mouth of Cape Fear or Bald Head Island in North Carolina and accelerated as it proceeded northeast. Damaging east winds arrived in Sussex County by 3 a.m. EDT almost coinciding with the torrential rain. Meanwhile a weakened Category One Floyd moved through Virginia Beach, Virginia and was back over the open Atlantic Ocean around noon on the 16th. Floyd continued to move northeast and the eye passed just east of the Virginia Capes and Fenwick Island, Delaware during the mid afternoon. Eyewitness reports stated that the western part of the eye brushed the island. By the afternoon of the 16th all the torrential rain had moved north of Floyd and ended with the passage of the hurricane (on the same latitude line). During the afternoon of the 16th all of the sustained hurricane force winds were located over the Atlantic, although damaging winds continued. Between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT the torrential rain ended across the state. At 5 p.m. EDT Floyd was downgraded to a tropical storm as it passed about 10 miles east of Atlantic City. But in some cases (especially in New Castle County), the strongest winds associated with Floyd mixed down as cooler air behind the system moved into the region. The strong winds persisted through the evening of the 16th. Wind gusts rarely exceeded 50 mph, but all the flooding rains made it easy for trees to be knocked over. Tropical Storm Floyd made landfall again on western Fire Island in Suffolk County, New York around 8 p.m. EDT and was located near Portland, Maine at 8 a.m. EDT on the 17th. Floyd hit New Castle County the hardest as the preliminary damages estimates for the county reached 8 million dollars. One hundred twenty-seven homes in the state suffered minor damage, 83 were in New Castle County. All the 44 homes with major damage and 33 homes that were condemned were in New Castle County. The hardest hit community within the county was Glenville (near Stanton) along the White Clay Creek. About 100 homes were flooded with up to six feet of water. During the height of the storm forty roads and bridges were closed including sections of Delaware State Routes 1 and 9. Flooding from Floyd washed away a 200 foot stretch of roadway and embankment of the Silver Lake Bridge. The contents of the lake went down the Appoquinimink River. The road was scheduled to be reopened in Mid December. At about 730 p.m. EDT flooding along the Red Clay Creek washed out two bridges and extensively damaged three others used by the Wilmington Western Railroad (Delaware's oldest) near Prices Corner. Miles of track, trestles and road beds suffered extensive damage estimated at 2.5 million dollars. Full service was not expected to be restored until the summer of 2000. Residents in low-lying areas in Wilmington were asked to evacuate. Flooding occurred and included the Gander Hill Prison. High winds also pulled down numerous trees in the county. One tree fell through and damaged the Center for the Creative Arts in Yorklyn.Damage in Kent County was more widely scattered. Delaware State Routes 6 and 9 flooded from both the combination of heavy rain and also tides near the bay. Woodland Beach was cut off from mid afternoon until 9 p.m. EDT on the 16th. The St. Jones River flooded in Dover. One house in Dover lost a 38-foot-long section of a foundation. The bridge on Delaware State Route 8 near Marydel was damaged and not reopened until the 24th. Several roads were closed around Smyrna and Clayton from the combination of flooding and downed trees. A downed tree damaged at least one house in Dover. The worst damage from Floyd in Sussex County occurred inland. Serious flooding problems were reported in Bridgeville, Greenwood and Seaford. Seventy-five percent of downtown Greenwood was submerged under four feet of water. The Seaford Apartments (the elderly) in Seaford were evacuated. The parking lot became inaccessible. In Laurel, a 12-year-old boy was swept into a drainage ditch and carried for half a mile before he was rescued and treated for hypothermia. In South Bethany (because of no dune protection) and Lewes voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas were recommended. But damage along the ocean was minimal. Some beach dune fencing was blown down and minor erosion occurred. Minor tidal flooding occurred along the bayside streets. State Routes 1, 54 and 56 had water on them during high tide. The Christina River at Coochs Bridge reached its 9 foot flood stage at 7 a.m. EDT on the 16th, crested at a RECORD BREAKING 13.9 feet at 430 p.m. EDT. The White Clay Creek at Delaware Park (Stanton) reached its 13 foot flood stage at 10 a.m. EDT on the 16th, crested at a RECORD BREAKING 17.6 feet at 9 p.m. EDT and was back within bankfull at 4 a.m. EDT on the 17th. The Red Clay Creek at Wooddale reached its 5.5 flood stage at 11 a.m. EDT on the 16th and crested at a RECORD BREAKING 13.9 feet at 7 p.m. EDT on the 16th. The Brandywine Creek at Wilmington reached its 11 foot flood stage at 4 p.m. EDT on the 16th and came within .1 of a foot of tieing the record flood stage when it crested at 15.4 feet. The tide gage at Reedy Point (New Castle County) peaked at 7.5 feet above mean lower low water at 406 p.m. EDT. Minor tidal flooding starts at 7 feet above mean lower low water. Storm totals included 10.58 inches in Greenwood (Sussex County - a new state record), 9.75 inches at the Porter Reservoir (New Castle County), 9.49 inches in Newark (New Castle County), 9.18 inches in Wilmington (New Castle County), 8.84 inches in Bear (New Castle County), 8.44 inches at the Dover AFB (Kent County), 8.29 inches at the New Castle County Airport, 7.27 inches in Bridgeville (Sussex County), 6.20 inches in Milford (Sussex County) and 6.11 inches in Georgetown (Sussex County). The highest wind gusts included 64 mph at the Pilot Tower (Sussex County), 60 mph at the Delaware Bay Buoy and 46 mph at the New Castle County Airport. Another unwanted side effect from Floyd was extra mosquitoes.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5722643. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.