To the relief of some Monday’s storm did not pack the punch that was first predicted.
The storm did not arrive as early as expected. As of 6 a.m. less than an inch had fallen in many locations. However, the snow began to pick up in intensity during the morning. Snow stopped in much of New Castle County as of noon and Gov. Jack Markell lifted a limited state of emergency for New Castle County, effective at 2 p.m. The declaration was later lifted for the entire state.
Maximum snowfall was around 5 inches, a figure reported in Glasgow, with figures close to that number downstate.
Snowfall totals were much smaller on the northern edge of the state.
On Monday morning, Delaware State Police reported 32 vehicle crashes since 2 a.m. including four with minor injuries. Thirty-five disabled vehicles were reported. Troopers urged extra caution, noting that slippery conditions contributed to most of the accidents.
Schools were closed throughout the state. Blood Bank of Delmarva locations and the New Castle Airport remained open. Blood Bank later closed downstate centers. A Frontier Airlines flight to Tampa was able to fly out of the airport. Christiana Mall announced its anchor stores will open at 10 a.m., although many stores opened after that time.
The storm started out as rain, but became mixed and changed over to snow Monday morning.
The temperature fell to about 20 at daybreak. That’s unusual in late winter, a time when snow typically falls at a temperature around the freezing mark.
The storm is the latest of more than a dozen that have disrupted businesses, schools and other employers during a tough winter. Nearly 40 inches of snow has fallen at the New Castle County Airport in 2014.
While the area has not seen the two-foot accumulations that appear from time to time, the multitude of storms has put the current period into the top three in terms of total snowfall.
The Weather Service said the storm is expected to arrive on Sunday with rain, snow, freezing rain and sleet before midnight, with snow and sleet in the early morning hours on Monday. followed by snow. Little or no ice accumulation is expected,, which should calm fears about power outages. Snowfall could total one to three inches.
The snow will be followed by bitterly cold weather with the high temperature reaching 27 on Tuesday and falling to 11 on Tuesday night. The temperature will struggle to get to the freezing mark on Wednesday.
