Rising inch counts cause closures, delays


The first snow of 2022 blanketed Delaware Monday, shuttering state offices and businesses, prompting power outages, and disrupting statewide COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites as southern areas of the state received the brunt of the storm. 

In an uncommon twist, the central and southern areas of the state, rather than the north, endured the highest amount of snow, according to Trent Davis, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

He expected the snow to continue to fall in Kent and Sussex until between 4 and 7 p.m. It wrapped up in northern New Castle before 3 p.m.

As of 3 p.m., Hartly was walloped with 13 inches of snow, 11.6 inches of snow had fallen in Milton, and Dover was covered in 7 inches.

People work to push a vehicle stuck in the snow in Middletown on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.

“We had some thundersnow in Sussex County, far down in the Laurel area,” Davis said of the rare occurrence, adding “it’s a pretty robust system.”

The lightning strikes were reported between 1:30 and 2 p.m., he said Monday afternoon, and “you can’t rule out more.” 

Bob Carey, of Carey’s Towing in Laurel, said the business was so busy towing cars they hadn’t had time to get out their snowplow. Carey advised residents to stay off the roads, if possible. 

“Cars into ditches, trees, off the road. A lot of damage to a lot of cars,” he said.

Travel in eastern Sussex County was reported as extremely hazardous at around 4 p.m. with near whiteout conditions from Milford to Milton, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation, which have had crews working since 3 a.m. Monday.

DelDOT said it was plowing and salting primary roads “which are in very poor condition as heavy snow continues to fall across Sussex County.”

It said plows will not begin clearing secondary and rural roads until conditions on primary roads begin to improve.

Heavy snow caused low visibility on Coastal Highway Monday morning.

Drivers were advised to slow down and exercise caution as road conditions deteriorated throughout the day. Numerous cars could be seen stopped on the side of Route 1 on Monday afternoon. 

Monday’s storm developed quickly Sunday night as “a really strong cold front came through,” Davis said.

However, the storm was a bust in some portions of northern New Castle County.

By about 2 p.m., only scant amounts coated the ground, barely enough for favorable sledding conditions although some children and adults were seen trying to slide down a hill in a neighborhood near Hockessin.

The New Castle County Airport reported 1-inch of snow by early afternoon, while more than 5.3 inches coated Middletown and Summit Bridge saw 5.5 inches.

Some of the state’s highest amount of snow fell in central and southern Delaware cities with nearly 10 inches accumulating in Woodside, and both Ellendale and Harrington climbing toward the 9-inch mark. In Smyrna, a little over eight inches accrued throughout the day.

POWER OUTAGES:Heavy snow, winds cause multiple power outages across Delaware, Maryland and Virginia

Eighty-seven active power outages were reported throughout southern areas of the state, affecting over 2,000 people according to Delmarva Power. Multiple power outages have also been reported in Milford

“Public works employees are aware of the problems and are doing their best to get power up and running again as fast as possible,” the city’s website read. “If you want to report a power outage, please call the Milford Public Works Department at (302) 422 – 1110.”

Workers remove snow from the Tanger Outlets near Rehoboth after several inches of snow fell during a storm on Monday, January 3.

As a result of the storm, Delaware’s Code Purple emergency sanctuary locations in Kent County opened Monday and will operate on Tuesday. More information regarding contact information and addresses can be found on their website

A sharp cutoff in the amount of snow was expected northwest of the I-95 corridor near New Castle County and extending toward Philadelphia.

‘The roads are awful’:1 killed in crash near Felton, officials urge caution in snow

Mike Rohrer shovels snow outside of J&K Liquor Warehouse Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, in Middletown.

The snow resulted in hazardous conditions that affected the morning commute throughout the state.

DELMARVA SNOW:Here’s some snowfall in Salisbury, lower Delaware on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022

The snow also affected the commute of President Joe Biden as he returned to Washington D.C. after spending some time at his Greenville home and dining out a Banks’ Seafood Kitchen and Raw Bar at the Wilmington Riverfront. At around 9 a.m., Air Force One was being de-iced as Biden prepared to fly. 





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