Near-blizzard conditions expected during Jan. 3 snowstorm
As predicted, heavy, wet snow started falling around 6 a.m., Monday, Jan. 3, in the Cape Region, and it’s expected to keep falling until late afternoon.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning until 4 p.m., Jan. 3, for the Sussex County area. The forecast includes snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with gusty winds up to 40 miles per hour. Periods of near-blizzard conditions are possible from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Residents are warned to stay off area roadways.
The temperature dropped from 60F late Jan. 2 to 32F within a period of a few hours.
What is a blizzard? According to the National Weather Service, to be termed a blizzard, a storm must have sustained winds of at least 35 miles per hour with enough snow to limit visibility to one-quarter mile or less for a period of at least three hours.
As of noon Monday, Delaware Electric Cooperative was reporting 2,280 outages, mostly in the Milton-Georgetown area in Sussex County and in the Harrington-Houston area in Kent County. Delmarva Power was reporting 2,810 outages in southern Delaware and Maryland.
Closings, delays
Cape Henlopen School District is closed withno instruction.
Delmarva Christian Schools Milton Campus (Early Learning Center, Extended Care and Pre-K through 8) will be closed Monday, Jan. 3. The high school building is closed Jan. 3-7, with students engaging in a virtual course to be completed by Jan. 14.
State of Delaware offices are closed, including judicial branch offices in all three counties. Justice of the Peace Courts 11 (New Castle County), 7 (Kent County), and 3 (Sussex County) will remain open.
Sussex County government offices are closed.
Lewes City Hall and BPW offices are closed. Trash and recycling collection scheduled for Monday has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 6. Based on snow accumulations, the city will make a determination about Tuesday's trash collection later today and provide an update.
All Delaware Tech campuses are closed. Online student services will proceed as scheduled.
Dewey Beach Town Hall is closed.
Rehoboth Beach City Hall close at noon.
No brine because of rain
Delaware Department of Transportation snowplow crews were out early Jan. 3 in an attempt to clear accumulating snow on area roadways.
Because of rainfall prior to the storm, DelDOT crews could not apply brine mixture to roads. “Rain dilutes the brine mixture and it also does not stick to wet surfaces neutralizing its effectiveness. We only use it when a storm is forecast not to begin as rain and roads are dry in advance of storms,” said C.R. McLeod, director of DelDOT community relations.
Brine solution of salt and water prevents snow and ice from freezing on roadways.
At this time, DART plans to operate fixed route and paratransit bus services on their regular weekday schedule, but delays should be expected and customers should check dartfirststate.com and the DART app for real-time updates.
The DelDOT snowplow tracker will be active during the storm and is available via the DelDOT smartphone app and www.deldot.gov under the interactive maps icon. Additionally, DelDOT also has more than 200 traffic cameras that are available to view road conditions around the state.
A coastal flood warning was issued for tidal areas throughout the region on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 with several area roadways experiencing flooding at high tide around noon on Monday,
