People frequently lean toward snowfall totals to measure the intensity of winter storms. Of course, many weather elements combine to make it treacherous outdoors.
Wind, cold and, yes, snow came together to clobber Delaware and the eastern shore of Maryland with a winter weather storm that continues a frigid beginning to 2018. The weatherman promises a weekend of the coldest temperatures this season. Diocesan elementary schools are closed Friday, Jan. 5, in New Castle County.
Schools were closed Thursday, Jan. 4, and many scheduled events were scuttled as the storm came upon us as predicted and then some.
As for those snowfall totals, they were varied.
As of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service clocked top snow totals in all three Delaware counties. In Sussex County, Stockley measured 8.9 inches of snow. Harrington was the leader in Kent County at 5.3 inches and Blackbird in New Castle County came in at 3.3 inches. Across the Delaware Bay in New Jersey, Cape May Court House was pounded with 17 inches of snow.
Wind in Delaware was most impressive in Bethany Beach and Lewes as gusts topped 60 mph.
Various portions of the region were state of emergency through Thursday. The powerful nor’easter shared its strength with the eastern shore of Maryland.
Cold and wind will dominate Friday and Saturday as high temperatures struggle to reach the high teens and lows will drop near zero.
