DOVER — As the snowfall tapered off throughout Delaware Monday morning, its effects figured to remain in place for awhile.
As of 2 p.m. Feb. 23, the National Weather Service said the Winter Storm and Blizzard Warnings had been lifted. But there was still much snow to clear due to Winter Storm Hernando.
Thousands of Delawareans remained without electricity, which punctuated the power of the storm.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Feb. 23, the Delaware Electric Cooperative reported 45,830 members remained affected by power outages. There were 56,900 reported in the morning and updates were available at delaware.coop.
DEC spokesperson Jeremy Tucker said “This blizzard has caused the most extensive damage to our local grid since the back-to-back blizzards of 2010.”
Also, according to Mr. Tucker “Wind gusts of up to 60 mph, combined with heavy, wet snow, have wreaked havoc on our system. ...”
In morning, Mr. Tucker reported that “After temporarily halting most restoration work overnight to ensure the safety of our crews, full restoration efforts are now back underway.”
“Employees are in the field assessing damage, identifying downed trees, and inspecting damaged equipment.
“That information is being relayed to our dispatchers, and by mid-morning, our lineworkers, along with contract utility and tree-trimming crews, will be working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power.”
With the extensive” damage, full restoration may take several days,” Mr. Tucker said.
Out of state assistance was on the way, and Mr. Tucker said “Ten additional utility crews from Virginia are also on their way to assist.
“We want members to know that we are doing everything possible to restore power safely and efficiently.”
According to Mr. Tucker “We are prioritizing repairs that will restore service to the largest number of homes first, then moving on to outages affecting smaller numbers of members.”
Across Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delmarva Power reported on delmarva.com nearly 25,900 customers affected as of 5 p.m. Feb. 23.
At around 9 a.m. Feb. 23, AccuWeather meteorolgist Bill Deger pointed to inch counts he said reached around 19-20 inches, mentioning Bethel and Long Neck specificically.
Fortunately, he said, “The worst of the storm is in the rearview mirror at this point.”
With the amount of snow, however, Mr. Deger also said, “This is a storm that only comes along once a decade when you get these totals.”
Also, he said, “Another thing that makes this storm unique is how quickly it strengthened off the (Atlantic Coast.)”
Melting could come soon, and Mr. Deger forecast that temperatures could rise to nearly 40 degrees the afternoon of Feb. 23 and stay solidly above freezing the next couple days.
The high could reach nearly 50 on Feb. 25, he said.
Still, according to Mr. Deger, “I would be careful removing snow today.
“This was a heavy, wet snow, it wasn’t a powdery snow so those with heart ailments, older people should be very careful removing it ...”
So, Mr. Deger surmised, “It’s going to take some time to get back to normal life but at least Mother Nature is going to help us with those temperatures the next few days.”
The cooperative noted that this is the area’s biggest winter storm since 2010.
A blizzard is defined by the National Weather Service as a snow storm with sustained winds or gusts of 35 mph or greater and visibility reduced to 1/4 mile or less for at least three hours.
Infamous Tattoo piercer and manager Cait Madden made a positive comparison to this one and the last one less than a month ago.
Ms. Madden said with the snow’s consistency this time, clearing a walking path to the door in downtown Middletown seemed easier.
And, she added “The ice last time was the worst I’ve ever experienced.”
The two snowstorms this winter weren’t crippling to seeing customers either, she said.
While there was a slowdown for a couple days following the snowfall, “it’s slower in the winter any way and it doesn’t make that much of an impact.”
Delaware Environmental Observing System inch counts at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 23 included:
Talley 8.4
Claymont 7.1
Greenville 10
Prices Corner 7.8
White Clay Creek 7.2
Hockessin 7.5
Newark 5.7
Glasgow 5.8
New Castle 8
Blackbird 9.2
Port Penn 5.8
West Dover 9.8
Smyrna 10.5
Woodside 11.3
Dover 10.4
Frederica 11.6
Harrington 14.2
Dagsboro 15.5
Bethany Beach 8.7
Stockley 12.2
Nassau 10.7
Ellendale 10.2
Lewes 7.8
Seaford 7
Bridgeville 10.8
Laurel 8.2
