Severe storms rip through Northern Delaware

The noon sky turned pitch black in parts of Wilmington as a line of heavy rain and thunderstorms rolled through New Castle County.

Part of roof blew off a home in the 500 block of North Harrison Street.  Janais Jackson was inside her godmother’s house watching television when the storm blew over head.  She got up and noticed water coming down the wall, so she put a pan under it while she tried to figure out where the leak was coming from. 

She went up stairs to a bedroom and that’s when she saw ceiling tiles on the ground.  She says she really didn’t get the full impact until she went outside and saw the roof had fallen into the alley next door.

A few blocks away on Madison Street a tree blew over blocking part of the street.  Delmarva Power noted there were several thousand people impacted at the height of the storm.

The storms could wreak havoc with the evening rush hour heading out of Wilmington.  City police say the intersection of 4th and Adams Streets will be closed for emergency power line repairs.  That intersection is a key choke point for traffic headed to northbound I-95. The intersection is not expected to reopen until 8 pm.

DelDot reported crews working in several areas around New Castle County.  There were flooded areas on Governor Printz Blvd., Airport Rd., and Route 273.  They also report trees and wires down on parts of Route 41 and Route 48.

The National Weather Service says the storms are part of a cold front coming through the area.  We can expect the possibility of more showers tonight.