Delaware storm update: 9:30pm – State offices closed; New Castle Co. shelter opens

State offices remain closed Thursday. More emergency proceedures in place. New Castle country residents in need of emergency shelter now have somewhere to go.
William Penn High School in New Castle opened its doors to those who need to leave their homes due to power outages at 5pm Wednesday.

Governor Jack Markell has order all state offices closed Thursday.  Sussex County had earlier sent out the word its government offices would also be closed. 

The National weather service expects the winds to remain strong over night.  It has official given the following snow totals:

New Castle County airport: 12.8 inches

Newark 12.2 inches

Woodside 10 inches

Dover 5.0 inches

Lewes 8.1 inches

All of this comes as New Castle country residents in need of emergency shelter have somewhere to go.

William Penn High School in New Castle opened its doors to those who need to leave their homes due to power outages at 5pm Wednesday.

State officials say those heading to a shelter are exempt from the travel restrictions contained in the Governor’s State of Emergency declaration.

People using the shelter need to bring their own bedding, such as sleeping bags, air mattresses and pillows.  Quiet games and diversions for children should also be brought along, along with snacks or special food needs for adults and children.  Personal grooming items and medications should also be brought to the shelter.

Parents with infants need to bring such items as diapers, wipes, formula and other needs as they are not provided.

Transportation can be arranged for those unable to get to a shelter on their own.  Call the Delaware Helpline at 1-800-464-4357 to make arrangements until 9 p.m. or the County Emergency Operations Centers at (302) 576-3914 for the Wilmington EOC and (302) 395-2700 for the NcCo EOC.

Wilmington also remains in an emergency footing.  City offices are  closed tomorrow.  Their operations number is 302-576-2489.

The state of Delaware continues its state of emergency.  The emergency management management operation center is open.  Residents can call into 1-800-464-4357. DelDot snow removal operations have been suspended in Kent, Sussex and New Castle counties because of visibility problems on the road.  Most calls into the operations center are to help motorists stranded by the snow.  Some have been about property damage.   Schools around the state have been closed and most likely will remain closed through the President’s day holiday.

The Governor’s office is asking businesses to assess their needs so that they can keep travel on area roads to a minium.  DART bus schedules are affected by the storm.  The SEPTA R-2 train service has been suspended.  Delmarva Power reports 18,000 customers without power because of the storm in New Castle County.   Across Delaware and the Eastern shore of Maryland that number climbs to 33,000.  Some of those people have been without power since Saturday’s storm.  In some cases repair crews have been ordered off the road because of driving visibilities.

The National Weather Service says Thursday will be sunny with a high of 34.