Delaware gets slammed by snow and now winds

Central and southern Delaware got the worst of a powerful winter storm that left between 3 and 11 inches of snow.  Strong winds are continuing to cause drifting. 

 

The Delaware National Guard Joint Operations Center was activated for the storm.  At one point, about 150 soldiers and 40 vehicles were providing support to local agencies around the state.  Personnel in Humvees assisted towing crews in removing disabled vehicles and helping people caught in the storm.

Governor Markell declared a limited State of Emergency Sunday at 4:00 p.m., which discourages drivers in Kent and Sussex counties from “operating motor vehicles on state roadways unless they have a significant safety, health or business reason to do so.  Drivers may be issued a warning under those circumstances.”

The limited State of Emergency remained in effect Monday as efforts continued to clear the roadways.  Those efforts were being hampered by strong wind gusts that caused snowdrifts several feet deep.

Debbie Jones of the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center says in many cases as soon as road crews clear a path the wind blows the snow right back into the roadway.

The limited State of Emergency was lifted at noon in Kent County, and was to expire at 6:00 p.m. Monday in Sussex County.

Updates on the storm are available from the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.

The strong winds have caused varying numbers of power outages in Delmarva Power’s service region.  At one point midday Monday nearly 8,000 customers in New Castle and Cecil counties were without electricity.