Gov. John Carney has issued a Level 1 Driving Warning for New Castle County beginning at 2 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for northern Delaware.
The DEOS system from the University of Delaware reported that snowfall amounts, as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, ranged from upwards of 11 inches in Greenville to less than an inch in Dover. Many areas in New Castle County received five inches or less
Weather.com indicated that the snowfall could end at 4 p.m. However, Winter Storm Quinn has proved to be unpredictable. The snow line did not reach Baltimore but did hit the Delaware Valley. Reports indicated snowfall stopped late Wednesday afternoon.
A Level 1 Driving Warning means:
- Any person operating a motor vehicle shall exercise extra caution in the operation of their motor vehicle.
- Motorists are encouraged not to operate a motor vehicle on the State’s roadways unless there is a significant safety, health, or business reason to do so.
“Conditions are worsening across New Castle County, and we encourage everyone to stay off the roads if possible. If Delawareans have to be on the roadways, they should exercise extra caution while driving,” said Carney. “DelDOT will continue to work throughout this afternoon and tonight to clear the roads.”
The snowfall led to complaints about a slow response from DelDOT, according to the Town Square Delaware website. Complaints centered around deteriorating road conditions and motorists facing dicey afternoon commutes.
The department has long been the target of complaints by motorists. Unlike many states, Delaware does not have county road departments with only larger municipalities owning plows. That leaves DelDOT with the task of removing snow from most roads, with some subdivisions contracting out the work.
In Wilmington, the Public Works Department currently has 21 City vehicles and another six from contracted companies plowing all major and secondary streets throughout Wilmington.
The goal is to clear streets as quickly as possible in preparation for the Thursday morning rush-hour. The Public Works Department will keep crews working on 12-hour shifts through tomorrow to get all streets, bridges and overpasses plowed and salted.
Once the accumulation reached four inches this afternoon, Wilmington Public Works asked the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to come into the City to plow all bus stops and assist with state-maintained streets that have not already been plowed by Public Works crews.
Motorists may monitor real-time conditions, snow plow activity, and traffic cameras by using DelDOT’s Smartphone application. The DelDOT App is available for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets, and can be downloaded free, search for “DelDOT” at the Apple and Google Play stores. Motorists can also listen to WTMC 1380 AM for updates on road condition
