Delaware nor’easter shows state under two sets of weather conditions

Limited states of emergency have been declared for New Castle and Kent Counties and the city of Wilmington. State offices there have been closed as have all schools.

The only good thing to say about the past snows that fallen on Delaware during the winter of 2014 is the majority of them were of the powder snow variety. Delaware missed the ice storm of last week. As most Delawareans woke this morning, they found the powdery snow that started falling about 9 p.m. Wednesday being packed down as the rain line moves from south to north. Snow totals ranging from 6-10 inches were recorded in New Castle County before the rain started.

Driving warning

Governor Jack Markell, D-Delaware, has put in a Level 1 Driving Warning. According to state law that means that any person operating a motor vehicle when a Level 1 Driving Warning has been activated shall exercise extra caution in the operation of their motor vehicle.

Nonessential employees, regardless of whether employed by a public or private entity, are encouraged not to operate a motor vehicle on the State’s roadways when a Level 1 Driving Warning has been activated, unless there is a significant safety, health or business reason to do so.

A Coastal Flood Advisory is also in effect statewide until midnight tonight. Areas of minor coastal flooding are expected with the Thursday morning and evening high tides. Areas of poor drainage will be affected and some roadway flooding may be experienced. While the upper counties deal with snow and rain, Sussex County is mainly dealing with heavy rains and high winds.

Transit changes

DART is operating on a Saturday schedule. It lists problems on the following routes:

Rt. 1 –No service into Bellefonte
Rt. 8 – No service
Rt. 15 – No service into Jefferson Farms
Rt. 17 – No service into Holloway Terrace
Rt. 23 – No service into Stratford
Rt. 24 – Stays on Governor Printz Blvd.
Rt. 25 – No service into Llangollen

DelDOT brought their road crews in for New Castle and Kent Counties at 9 p.m. Wednesday. The state says their salt piles are still at 80 oercent of full capacity or about 36,000 tons. While the focus has been on the main roads, the majority of secondary streets remain unplowed.

The University of Delaware cancelled their men’s basketball game tonight. The Christiana Mall announced it will not open this morning.

The Department of Health and Social Services implemented their Code Purple to pull any homeless people off the streets and into shelters.

Delmarva Power said it put extra crews on standby to deal with the possibility of heavy snow snapping off branches, which could fall on power lines.

Television news crews went on the air through the morning documenting the changes in conditions. NBC 10 boasted a claim that it began coverage at 3 a.m. While it might have seemed like more information than one could process, there were breaks in the program where pleasant commercials showing beach scenes in the Caribbean could help take your mind off the tasks ahead for the day.