Small Town News

Snowstorm surprises region

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More winter weather in forecast

What was supposed to be one or two inches of snow over the weekend in the Cape Region turned out to be a major snowstorm with as many as 10 inches piling up Saturday, Jan. 30, with temperatures below 20 degrees.

The third snowstorm of the season was expected to stay south of the Cape Region, but it turned north, blowing away the forecast. The National Weather Service's winter-storm warning of 5 to 8 inches of snow was exceeded in the Cape Region.

The area may not have much time to recover as two more storms are in the forecast. From 1 to 3 inches of snow is predicted for Tuesday, Feb. 2, according to Valerie Meloa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. She said another Gulf Coast storm, similar to the one that brought snow to the Cape Region this past weekend, could hit the area Saturday, Feb. 6. "We are uncertain of the track at this point but should be issuing possible snowfall totals within a day or two," she said.

Police reported more than 35 crashes as a result of the storm, said Sgt. Walter Newton, state police spokesman. Police closed Nassau bridge on Route 1 for about an hour around 2:20 p.m., Saturday, due to hazardous conditions. Eleven vehicles were reported going sideways on the bridge due to icy conditions. As residents woke up Sunday, Jan. 31, and started digging out their vehicles and homes, churches cancelled services, and school officials didn't wait long to send out the word that schools were closed Monday, Feb. 1.

Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) crews were out plowing by noon, Saturday. Jim Westhoff, DelDOT spokesman, said the amount of snow didn't catch the crews off guard. "Our preparations are the same," he said.

Brine had been placed on major Sussex roads Thursday, Jan. 28, in preparation for the storm. "We pretreated early on Thursday when it was a little warmer," he said. "If it's too cold the salt is not as effective."

Most crews worked 24 hours straight, he said. About 300 DelDOT employees were on hand in southern Delaware. After some rest Sunday night, crews were back on die road by 6 am. Monday to begin the long task of clearing hundreds of miles of Sussex County back roads. Westhoff said sand and salt were applied to ice-packed roads.

The cost of three storms has strained the DelDOT snow removal budget to the point of breaking. "We've done a lot of cost-saving measures in DelDOT. We'll be OK," Westhoff said. The cost of the most recent storm was not available.





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