Power Outage in Dover, DE

Wind damage was first observed near a residence on Farmington|Road, knocking down and snapping several trees in a narrow swath.|The tornado then continued over railroad tracks and a cornfield, |where a notable convergent pattern was observed. From there, the |tornado proceeded eastward toward the South DuPont Highway, but |not before causing damage to a business where metal roofing was |peeled off. Several snapped trees were also noted on the property.|Subsequently, the tornado crossed Gun and Rod Club Road where |another area of trees were downed, with numerous branches across |the roadway. South of Williamsville Road along Hogtown Road, a |residence was damaged when a tree fell on to the roof. On the |other side of the road, a corn field was present with a notable |divergent pattern observed. This damage, south of the tornado |track, was likely due to a RFD surge. The tornado then crossed a |large wooded area with damage again observed to a property on the |east side of the wooded area along Hunting Quarter Road. Numerous |trees were snapped on the property with damage also occuring to a |house due to a downed tree limb. Power lines were also knocked |down. Debris was then lofted towards a farm across Hunting Quarter|Road. The tornado then weakened and lifted just west of Deep |Grass Lane with only a few down branches being noted.

Downed tree limbs and power lines were reported in the Woodland Beach area. Time estimated from radar.

Several reports of downed trees and wires near Cheswold. Time estimated from radar and power outage reports.

Several reports of downed power lines in the Leipsic area. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines were downed near Park Brown Rd near Sandtown. Time estimated from radar.

Large tree and power lines down. Time estimated from radar.

Trees and power lines reported down in this area. Time estimated from radar.

Tree and power pole downed in the area. Time estimated from radar.

Power pole snapped from strong wind. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines were reported down near Route 8 west of Dover. Time estimated from radar.

Trees and wires down across Kent county with 1,500 people without power.

An EF1 tornado with an estimated maximum wind speed of 105 mph touched down in West Dover Hundred. It touched down just west of Darling Drive and lifted just east of Darling Farm Road. Two people were injured as the worst wind damage occurred on Darling Drive. A 58-year-old man and his wife were injured after the tornado elevated, spun and then leveled their mobile home. The man had a bureau, a file cabinet and a mattress over him. The tornado damaged about seventeen homes in the area, leaving four condemned and uninhabitable. The tornado also snapped five poles. A couple of thousand homes and businesses were also without power. The tornado was embedded within a swath of other damaging winds. The estimated path length was 0.35 miles and the estimated maximum path width was 50 yards.

An EF0 tornado touched down in the Barclay Farms Subdivision in Camden with an estimated maximum wind speed of 85 mph. The tornado damaged approximately ten homes, six of them seriously and caused two injuries. Six homes were considered uninhabitable and gas lines were turned off in the development. The tornado touched down on Dawson Lane and paralleled the train tracks from south to north. Structural damage to homes occurred from Dalby Lane north through Carey Lane. The tornado lifted after it passed Carey Lane. At one home, the wind tore the roof off a garage, damaging the two cars inside and the side of the home. The owner of the house was hospitalized after he cut his hand on a piece of broken glass. A firefighter was also injured assisting another resident. About 1,200 customers of the Delaware Electric Co-Operative lost power after the tornado moved through. All service was restored by 630 p.m. EDT that evening. The tornado's path length was approximately 0.2 miles and its maximum path width was 35 yards.

A severe thunderstorm downed large tree limbs onto power lines on Fox Road in Dover.

A lightning strike caused two-thirds of Dover to lose power for about 90 minutes during the afternoon of the 9th.

After a significant heatwave, a cold front approached the mid-Atlantic on July 1, 2021. A potent mid-level trough was also digging southward through southern Ontario and into the Great Lakes region, and a strong upper level jet streak was present downstream the trough axis, over the interior mid-Atlantic and northern New England. This strong upper level forcing combined with the approaching front and a lingering warm, moist air mass ahead of it caused widespread thunderstorm development on July 1. Storms occurred almost exclusively south of Interstate 78, in the environment of best instability. A number of storms became severe, taking the form of mainly linear and multi-cellular clusters but with some embedded supercellular characteristics. Straight line wind damage was the primary hazard, with a number of reports of downed trees and power outages due to winds. In addition, two confirmed EF-1 tornadoes occurred over southern Delaware. A remnant outflow boundary from earlier storms to the north, combined with sea/bay breezes in the area, likely caused a localized enhancement of low level wind shear and created a corridor of enhanced tornado potential. With the cold front remaining to the west, some storm activity continued into the overnight, but storm coverage and intensity gradually waned with the loss of daytime heating and the overturning of the atmosphere from earlier storms.

The same low pressure system that brought snow to northern Delaware, caused strong winds in central and southern Delaware and minor to moderate coastal flooding along the Atlantic Coast and lower Delaware Bay on the 29th. Minor tidal flooding also occurred in Upper Delaware Bay and along tidal sections of the Delaware River and its tributaries. Peak wind gusts averaged around 50 mph along the coast and caused minor power outages. ||Strong northeast winds overspread coastal sections of Kent and Sussex Counties during the second half of the morning on the 29th and persisted into the early evening hours before the low pressure system moved farther offshore. Astronomical tides were already running high because of the new moon. Because the lunar perigee occurred in close proximity to the time of the new moon, the astronomical tides were among the highest of the year in late October. Minor tidal flooding occurred with the morning high tides on the 27th, 28th and 30th. The added contribution of the onshore winds caused moderate tidal flooding to occur with the morning high tide on the 29th in Sussex County. On the morning of the 29th, tidal related roadway flooding occurred on New Road in Lewes, northbound Delaware State Route 1 north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge, on Long Neck Road at the Malones Mobile Home Park and on Oak Orchard Road in Millsboro. Delaware State Route 1 was closed as a precaution. Along Delaware Bay in Sussex County between Slaughter Beach and Broadkill Beach, roadway flooding occurred on Prime Hook and Fowler Beach Roads. Prime Hook Road remained closed through the 30th. ||Peak wind gusts included 50 mph in Lewes (Sussex County), 47 mph in Dover (Kent County) and 46 mph in Dewey Beach (Sussex County). The highest tides included 7.17 feet above mean lower low water in Lewes (Sussex County). Moderate tidal flooding starts at 7.0 feet above mean lower low water. Farther up the Delaware Bay, at Reedy Island (New Castle County) the highest tide reached 7.43 feet above mean lower low water. Minor tidal flooding starts at 7.2 feet above mean lower low water. ||Both the strong winds and moderate tidal flooding were cause by the pressure difference between the intensifying low pressure system to the south and east of Delaware and a high pressure system over New England. Once the low pressure system passed far enough east of Delaware during the evening of the 29th, both the strong wind and moderate tidal flooding threat passed.

A powerful nor'easter produced wind gusts nearly as high as 60 mph, widespread moderate tidal flooding, heavy rain and severe beach erosion along the Delaware coast from November 12th through the 14th. Preliminary damage was estimated at 45 million dollars. The highest winds occurred from the morning of the 12th into the afternoon of the 13th. About 13,000 people in Delaware and Maryland lost power. The heaviest rain fell on the 11th and 12th. The combination of heavy rain and tides caused about 50 roads in Delaware to be closed, the most notable Delaware State Route 1. Parts of the roadway remain closed through the 15th as three feet of sand accumulated on it. Service on the Cape May Lewes Ferry was limited. The highest tides occurred with the morning high tide on the 13th. This was the highest tides in Sussex County since the February 5, 1998 nor'easter. Because of the persistent onshore flow, tidal flooding also occurred in Rehoboth and Indian River Bays. Tidal departures reached four and a half feet. ||Delaware Governor Jack A. Markell declared a state of emergency on the 12th. The National Guard was mobilized to help with possible evacuations. In Sussex County, many schools closed early on the 12th. Voluntary evacuations occurred in Oak Orchard, Riverdale and Mariners Cove. The Community Church in Oak Orchard was used as a shelter by about 100 people. Water rescues were performed on Delaware State Route 1, Long Neck Road and Cannon Street. ||In Lewes, several roads were flooded and closed including Savannah Road. In Rehoboth Beach, half of the dune sand was gone. There was a cut in the dunes north of the Henlopen Hotel. In Dewey Beach, flooding occurred along Rehoboth Bay. In Indian Beach, the dunes broke in several places and waves broke under homes. Within the Delaware Seashore State Park, there were several dune breaks. One break flooded Delaware State Route 1 with water and sand just north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge. The roadway remained closed through the 15th. Beach erosion was described as the heaviest in Indian Beach and within the Delaware Seashore State Park. In Oak Orchard, Indian River Bay flooding was ranked as the third worst since the 1962 Ash Wednesday nor'easter. In Bethany Beach, four dunes disappeared and flooding occurred in the north side of the municipality. Waves were measured at 10 feet along the shore. In South Bethany, no dunes were left along the south side of the town.| |Tidal flooding extended upward into Delaware Bay and along tidal sections of the Delaware River, but gradually became minor. The highest tide at Reedy Island in New Castle County was 7.35 feet above mean lower low water on the morning of the 14th. Minor tidal flooding begins at 7.20 feet above mean lower low water.||Peak wind gusts were all in Sussex County and included 60 mph in Fenwick Island, 56 mph in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach and 46 mph in Georgetown. The highest tide at Lewes reached 7.88 feet above mean lower low water on the morning of the 13th. Moderate tidal flooding ranges from 7.00 to 7.99 feet above mean lower low water. This was the highest tide recorded in Lewes since the February 5, 1998 nor'easter.||The nor'easter was originally Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Alabama on the morning of the 10th. As Ida made landfall, it lost tropical characteristics and transformed into an extratropical low pressure system. On the morning of November 11th, the low pressure system reached southern Georgia and the next morning (12th) it was located over the coastal waters east of Wilmington, North Carolina. Of equal importance, was a high pressure system that moved across New England and the Canadian Maritimes from the 12th through the 14th. Its effects were threefold, it increased the difference in surface pressure (thus increased the winds), it blocked the low pressure system from moving offshore and provided a very long fetch of onshore flow. The extratropical low pressure system reached its maximum strength of around 995 millibars during the evening of the 12th as it was located just off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. From there, the low pressure system slowly drifted off the North Carolina coast as it slowly weakened on the 13th and 14th.

A powerful nor'easter produced rain and strong to high winds across Kent and Sussex Counties from the 11th through the 14th. While rain began falling on the 11th, the heaviest rain fell from the 12th into the first half of the 13th. The rain ended on the 14th. Event precipitation totals averaged 2.5 to 4.5 inches and produced some poor drainage and low lying area flooding. Runoff from streams, creeks and rivers were slowed by the higher than normal tides. This included the Nanticoke River. In Kent County, some roadway flooding was reported in Frederica. The entrance to the Dover Public Library flooded.||Event precipitation totals included 4.62 inches in Greenwood (Sussex County), 4.57 inches in Georgetown (Sussex County), 4.40 inches in Seaford (Sussex County), 4.29 inches in Delmar (Sussex County), 3.23 inches in Dover (Kent County), 3.08 inches in Smyrna (Kent County), 2.89 inches in Marydel (Kent County) and 2.12 inches in Lewes (Sussex County).| |The nor'easter was originally Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Alabama on the morning of the 10th. As Ida made landfall, it lost tropical characteristics and transformed into an extratropical low pressure system. On the morning of November 11th, the low pressure system reached southern Georgia and the next morning (12th) it was located over the coastal waters east of Wilmington, North Carolina. The extratropical low pressure system reached its maximum strength of around 995 millibars during the evening of the 12th as it was located just off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. From there, the low pressure system slowly drifted off the North Carolina coast as it slowly weakened on the 13th and 14th.

Strong to high winds occurred just after Midnight EST on March 2nd in Kent and Sussex Counties as a gravity wave helped mix stronger winds aloft to the ground. Peak wind gusts reached around 60 mph in Sussex County. The combination of the wind and heavy snow helped cause power outages across the Delmarva Peninsula. Delmarva Power and Light reported about 26,000 homes and businesses lost power in its service area and Delaware Electric Cooperative reported about 14,400 homes and businesses lost power in the state. All power was restored by 8 a.m. EST on the 3rd. The strong to high winds also caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow and made it difficult for crews to keep roads plowed and open. The high winds and waves caused beach erosion along the Atlantic coast as well as dune damage in Bethany Beach. Waves even reached the edge of the dunes in Delaware Bay in Lewes. Peak wind gusts included 63 mph in Lewes (Sussex County), 62 mph at Breakwater Harbor (Sussex County), 53 mph at Indian River (Sussex County), 51 mph at Slaughter Beach (Sussex County) and 45 mph in Rehoboth Beach (Sussex County). The strong to high winds were associated with the nor'easter that brought the heavy snow to the state. The nor'easter low pressure system moved from the Georgia and South Carolina border at 7 a.m. EST on the 1st to about 150 miles east of the southern New Jersey coast at 7 a.m. EST on the 2nd. The strongest winds occurred during the early morning of the 2nd as a gravity wave that emanated from the low pressure system passed across the state.

A squall line of severe thunderstorms produced wind damage as it moved across central and southern Delaware during the late afternoon on the 4th. The squall line was moving east at about 60 mph. Delmarva Power and Light and Delaware Electric Coop reported about 10,200 homes and businesses lost power in Delaware, most of the outages were in Sussex County.

The combination of a strong high pressure system to the north and a nor'easter low pressure system that passed to the east of Delaware produced strong to high winds in Sussex County. It also caused heavy rain to fall during the day and early evening on the 16th. Storm totals averaged two to three inches across the region. The rain started across the region during the evening of the 15th. The heaviest rain fell from about 8 a.m. EDT through 8 p.m. EDT on the 16th. Precipitation changed to a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain before it ended across Kent County. All precipitation ended around 1 a.m. EDT on the 17th. The strongest winds occurred during the afternoon of the 16th as that was when the tightest pressure gradient (difference in surface pressure between the high and low pressure system) occurred in Delaware. |The high winds caused a few scattered outages across lower Delaware. The heavy rain caused minor flooding on Sussex County roadways and led to high water problems on 5 roadways in southern Kent County in Felton, Milford and Harrington. The heavy rain did also cause erosion, drainage and runoff problems in newly developed areas. | |Storm totals included 3.20 inches in Lincoln (Sussex County), 2.95 inches at the Dover Air Force Base (Kent County), 2.91 inches in Redden (Sussex County), 2.86 inches in Bridgeville (Sussex County), 2.83 inches in Prime Hook (Sussex County), 2.50 inches in Georgetown (Sussex County), 2.46 inches in Millville (Sussex County), 2.30 inches in Sandtown (Kent County) and 2.20 inches in Greenwood (Sussex County). Peak wind gusts (all in Sussex County) included 66 mph in Lewes, 50 mph in Roosevelt Inlet and 41 mph in Georgetown. |The heavy rain and strong to high winds were caused by a nor'easter low pressure system that developed on a cold front that moved through the area on the 15th. The low pressure system formed over South Carolina and Georgia on the morning of the 16th and moved northeast. At 2 p.m. EDT on the 16th, it was near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; at 8 p.m. EDT that evening, it was just east of Virginia Beach; at 2 a.m. EDT on the 17th, it was about 100 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey and was about 100 miles south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts at 8 a.m. EDT on the 17th. As central pressures go, this was not particularly a powerful system; it was only 996 millibars the morning of the 17th. What contributed to the event was the strong high pressure system (about 1040 millibars the morning of the 16th). It supplied the fresh cold air and increased the pressure gradient (and consequently the wind) between itself and the developing nor'easter low pressure system. This difference (and thus the winds) peaked during the afternoon of the 16th.

The combination of damaging winds and frequent lightning from a severe thunderstorm tore down large tree limbs and power lines in central Delaware from Camden northeast to Dover. Hundreds of homes and businesses lost power.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees and large limbs onto a couple of homes, power lines and roadways in the Smyrna and Clayton area. Emergency services responded to about 35 weather related incidents. No serious injuries were reported.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down trees, tree limbs and wires in western Kent County. About 2,400 homes and businesses lost power. Power was not restored until the morning of the 28th.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down large tree limbs and wires in the northeastern part of Kent County mainly in Duck Creek Hundred. About 750 homes and businesses lost power. In addition to the damaging winds, small slushy hail accumulated in Smyrna and Clayton.

Heavy rain fell across Kent and Sussex Counties mainly between 3 a.m. EDT and 3 p.m. EDT on the 20th. Rain began falling just before Midnight EDT on the 20th and ended between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. EDT on the 20th. Storm totals averaged between 3 and 4 inches and caused poor drainage flooding. Storm totals in New Castle County averaged between 1 and 2 inches. Since the rain fell heavy, but was spread across a large enough period of time, no stream or river flooding was reported. The combination of heavy rain and strong northeast winds did knock down shallow rooted trees and tree limbs. About 1,800 homes and businesses in Bridgeville and Greenwood (Sussex County) lost power. Elsewhere in the county, another 1,300 homes and businesses lost power for up to four hours in Milton and Rehoboth Beach. The heavy rain caused parking lot flooding near Rehoboth. One vehicle stalled. In Lewes, businesses and homes near the beach also suffered from widespread poor drainage flooding. Specific storm totals included 3.99 inches in Laurel Creek (Sussex County), 3.85 inches in Redden (Sussex County), 3.80 inches in Georgetown (Sussex County), 3.59 inches in Prime Hook (Sussex County), 3.48 inches in Greenwood (Sussex County), 3.31 inches in Dover (Kent County), 3.18 inches in Kitts Hummock (Kent County) and 1.62 inches at the New Castle County Airport. A peal wind gust of 40 mph was recorded in Georgetown.The heavy rain was caused by a low pressure system that moved east along a nearly stationary frontal boundary on the 20th. The low pressure system moved from near Cincinnati, Ohio at 8 a.m. EDT on the 20th east to La Plata, Maryland at 2 p.m. EDT on the 20th and to about 50 miles east of Ocean City, Maryland at 8 p.m. EDT on the 20th.

A severe thunderstorm pulled down large tree limbs and wires in Clayton. About 350 businesses and homes lost power.

A series of thunderstorms with torrential downpours caused flooding from Clayton and Smyrna southeast through Dover. Hardest hit was Smyrna which declared a state of emergency after 11.10 inches of rain fell. This represents approximately a once in five hundred year storm. Major roads were closed, hundreds of homes were flooded, drivers were stranded and had to be rescued, horses were rescued, fields and yards became ponds, wells became compromised and over 100 people were evacuated. Both U.S. Route 13 and Delaware State Route 1 were closed near Smyrna. One lane in each direction of U.S. Route 13 was reopened at 8 p.m. EDT on the 12th and Delaware State Route 1 was reopened at 10 p.m. EDT on the 12th. Many roads between Smyrna and Dover were closed because of both downed trees and flooding. About 4,500 homes and businesses lost power. Nine roads in the county were still closed the morning of the 13th, most were reopened by the afternoon. No serious injuries were reported. The damage was estimated at $625,000.In Smyrna, a state of emergency was declared because of the flooding. Even Lake Como overflowed. The state of emergency was lifted at 3 a.m. EDT on the 13th. The worst damage occurred along Locust Street and West North Street. Four homes were condemned (two on each street) because of collapsed basements. Over 50 families were evacuated by boat from the Holly Hill Trailer Park to the local hospital and school. Only minor damage occurred at the trailer park. Over 100 homes were flooded. The Smyrna emergency services responded to sixty calls for help. Floating propane tanks were secured. Many well heads were submerged in flood waters and homeowners were urged to boil their well water before drinking or cooking. Duck Creek Shopping Plaza also flooded. Lake Como was closed to swimmers because of high bacteria count. In Clayton, emergency services responded to 47 calls for assistance. Wheatley's Pond overflowed. The Southern States apartment building suffered the most damage as up to eight feet of water amassed in about 20 basements. In Cheswold, there were several stranded vehicles and residents. In Little Creek Hundred, the fields flooded the roadways. In Dover, Silver Lake overflowed. Water Street flooded and was closed. Malls closed early.Storm totals included 11.10 inches in Smyrna and 4.67 inches at the Dover Air Force Base.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees and tree limbs between Clayton and Dover. Many roads were closed because of downed trees and also the ensuing flash flooding. About 4,500 homes and businesses lost power from both phenomena.

A severe thunderstorm uprooted several trees in Dover. Trees were knocked down across the street from the police station and on the property of Chesapeake Utilities. Large limbs fell onto the roof of at least one house. Several power lines were knocked down and caused outages. Power was restored by 9 p.m. EDT. The peak wind gust at the Dover Air Force Base was 54 mph.

The southern edge of a line of severe thunderstorms knocked down several large tree limbs and wires and caused a handful of scattered power outages in Kenton Hundred.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down several trees in the Camden area. One downed tree damaged a home. Conectiv Energy reported about 2,100 of its customers lost power in Kent and Sussex Counties from the severe thunderstorms overnight and the strong winds on the 15th.

A powerful line of severe thunderstorms uprooted trees, smashed windows and crushed fences in a one square mile area of Dover. The wind damage was centered around the K-Mart shopping center on U.S. Route 13. Business signs were demolished and glass doors were smashed in the center.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down scattered trees and power lines throughout Kent County.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down scattered trees and power lines across the northern half of Kent County. The greatest concentration was around Dover. A downed tree damaged a trailer's roof within Dover.

A couple of lightning strikes did some structural damage in East Dover. A newly rebuilt round barn off South Little Creek Road was damaged. The barn's cupola was split by scorch marks and its weather vane was knocked away. The lightning also warped the barn's cedar shingles. The outside ground was littered with broken cedar shingles. The indoor floor was littered with shredded and splintered rafter fragments. Twenty-two rafters were damaged. A second nearby barn also had its cupola struck by lightning. The second barn was set on fire from a damaged power line. The circuit breakers were popped and a 220 volt outlet melted. The fire was extinguished before more serious damage occurred. Lastly, lightning struck and knocked down a massive tree on North Little Creek Road.

A severe thunderstorm knocked over a couple of trees and caused power outages in the Canterbury area. The thunderstorms were triggered along a backdoor cold frontal boundary that moved through the state late in the afternoon. An usually warm air mass was in place over Delaware for most of the 25th. The high temperature at the New Castle County Airport reached 72 degrees.