Power Outage in Milford, DE

The Bridgeville-Ellendale Tornado began around 5:59 PM EDT near the intersection of Polk Road and Dublin Hill Road where a section of a small barn roof was blown off. The tornado continued east-northeast crossing Seashore Highway. Along this section of the |damage path, a couple wooden power poles were blown down along with several trees uprooted or snapped. On tree fell onto a house causing significant collateral roof damage. The tornado continued eastward paralleling Newton Road where a farmstead sustain significant tree damage. About a half dozen parked semi-trailers were blow over along a driveway. Farther east, more tree damage and snapped power poles were observed. Near the intersection of Precious Lane and Newton Road, a 2 story house was collapsed after appearing to have slid off its foundation. A small outbuilding was also severely damaged nearby. Debris from this area was blown several hundred yards east into nearby fields. Another farmstead was struck by the tornado as it continued east on Dale Farm Road. A large barn had 2 exterior walls blown out and a smaller shed was blown over. Several trees were also snapped or uprooted on the |property.||The tornado continued east, crossing a railroad track and impacting a Delaware Department of Transportation facility. Along the railroad track, a half dozen or more wooden high tension power poles were snapped and collapsed along with 2 steel high tension power poles. This is where the tornado's estimated peak wind speeds of 140 mph were reached. The DE DOT facility sustained significant damage. A maintenance garage building experienced a collapse of an exterior wall and large portion of its roof. 2 smaller garage buildings nearby experienced several garage doors blown out, roofing material removal, and exterior wall damage. A building storing road salt had it's roof completely destroyed. The facility's office building had a few windows blown out, siding, |and roofing material blown off. Some of the siding material was found embedded into the ground downstream where a Delaware Environmental Observing System mesonet gauge measured a 98 mph wind gust at 3 meters (10 feet) above the ground at 6:05 PM EDT.||The tornado continued across a field, then crossed US Route 13 where a few utility poles were snapped. The tornado continued east into a wooded area where significant tree damage occurred. Numerous trees were snapped, one of which fell onto a double-wide manufactured home. After continuing through the wooded area, the tornado emerged into a field along Sugar Hill Road. A house along the road sustained significant roof removal, exterior wall damage, and blown out windows. A small outbuilding sustained roof material removal and several trees near the house were snapped or |uprooted. The tornado continued across Sugar Hill Road and east into another field where 2 irrigation pivots were blown over. The tornado emerged into a wooded residential area along Fawn Road where the tornado appeared to have intensified. The tornado cause significant uprooted and snapped trees in the area as well as significant removal of roofing material and blown out windows to some of the single-family houses along Fawn Road. Farther east, the significant tree damage continued and a large detached garage collapsed.||The tornado continued northeast toward the northern extension of Fawn Road where more significant tree damage occurred. A single story single family home appeared to have slid off its foundation and collapsed. A few other homes sustained roofing material and other cosmetic material blown off. The tornado continued east into another wooded residential area along Quail Hollow Road where mostly significant tree damage occurred. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. One snapped tree fell into a house causing significant collateral damage. On large detached garage was severely damaged with exterior walls and roof collapse near Tuckers Road And Quail Hollow Road.||The tornado moved northeast from this area into a wooded area just south of Tuckers Road, emerging into an open field. This was the point where the tornado reached its maximum with of about 700 yards (0.4 miles). The tornado struck a small farmstead along Tuckers Road. The house appeared to have slide off its foundation and collapsed. 2 barns on the property were completely destroyed along with snapped trees and power poles. Farther east, several homes sustained damage from fallen trees and wind blowing off roof material. A few irrigation pivots were blown over in this area. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted along Owens Road and Sharps Mill Road near Tuckers Road. Just east of Tuckers Road, a single family house sustained significant structural damage. A large section of roof was blown off and an exterior wall was partially blown out. Several windows were blown out and the vinyl fencing on the property was almost completely blown away. A few more trees and minor cosmetic damage to structures occurred a few hundred yards east of Tuckers Road as the tornado continued northeast. Another residence was struck by the tornado on Tuckers |Road where a large portion of exterior wall along the attic was blown off. The home's chimney was also blown off and a few windows were blown out. A detached garage on the property had its roof almost completely blown off. A chicken house behind the residence had a small portion of its roof blown off. Some trees were uprooted along a tree line before the tornado moved into a large and inaccessible wooded area.||The tornado appeared to have maintained a fairly steady intensity as it continued northeast toward Ellendale while crossing several roads. The tornado crossed Oak Road, B and R Road, Oakley Road, Union Church Road, and Beaver Dam Road. Along these road crossings, the tornado produced consistent tree damage and some minor cosmetic damage to some homes. More notable areas of damage include: a large chicken house along B and R Road was severely damaged with some collapse of the northern end of the structure; A house along Oakley Road had an exterior garage wall pushed inward; more significant tree damage was also noted along Oakley Road; and a small portion of a single family house was blown off on Beaver Dam Road.||The tornado crossed US Route 113 into Ellendale where sporadic tree damage occurred in a residential area along Sharons Road. An entire attached garage roof and walls were blown off on a single family home on Pine Oak Street near Sharons Road. Some other houses sustained roof material blown off in this area. The tornado crossed Beach Highway/Main Street near Old State Road where some minor tree damage occurred and some shingles were blown off of a few homes. The tornado crossed Washington Avenue and McCaulley Avenue where a small portion of roof material was blow off of a |free standing garage. The tornado began to weaken considerably moving northeast of downtown Ellendale. It crossed Ponder Road where some roof material was blown off of a automotive service building. The tornado continued into a wooded area then crossed |Holly Tree Road emerging into a field. The tornado circulation dissipated around 6:19 PM EDT just after turning over an irrigation pivot near Hummingbird Road and Benson Road.

Emergency management reports uprooted trees and power outages in the Henlopen Acres area north of Rehoboth Beach. Time estimated from radar.

Power poles and power lines down on Horseshoe Road west of Seaford. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines down near Magnolia Drive and Cherry Blossom Lane in Seaford. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines were downed on Horseshoe Rd.

A tree was downed into power lines. Time estimated from radar.

Trees and power lines were downed near Woodpecker Rd. Time estimated from radar.

Power poles and wires were downed near Morris Mill Rd. Time estimated from radar.

Tree limbs downed onto wires caused a power outage near Atlanta Rd. Time estimated from radar.

Trees and wires were downed on Church Hill Rd with several other power outage reports in the area. Time estimated from radar.

A few reports of downed tree limbs and power lines in the Angola and Millsboro areas. Time estimated from radar.

Soon after crossing Haven Lake into Kent County, the tornado's direction of motion shifted considerably, from north-northeast to northwest. The tornado crossed |Williamsville Road producing additional tree damage, then lifted |as it proceeded northwest west of Milford Harrington Highway. Due to the extensive|tree damage, power lines and some poles were also down along |portions of the tornados path. Several of the trees were of |softwood and snapped at their trunks, which is indicative of 100 |mph winds and this was used to rate this tornado. This wind speed |corresponds to an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Doppler radar |data showed a well defined tornado debris signature that quickly |developed on the west and northwest side of Milford as the |circulation moved through.

A tree and power lines were reported down in Long Neck. Time estimated from radar.

A tree and power lines were downed near Holley Valley Rd in Seaford. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines were downed near Conquest Rd. Time estimated from radar.

Several reports of downed trees and power lines near Milford. Time estimated from radar.

A tree fell onto power lines in Blades. Time estimated from radar.

US Highway 9 closed between Fire Tower Road and Kaye Road owing to downed trees and power lines. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines down at the intersection of Bradford Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Time estimated from radar.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down several trees and power lines in Angola, generally to the east of Delaware State Route 24.

A severe thunderstorm caused wind damage as it moved through Dewey Beach. The thunderstorm winds damaged mobile homes on Rodney Street. The severe thunderstorm ripped apart sections of the observation deck roof, the deck itself and awning of the Lighthouse Restaurant. The Rusty Rudder Restaurant also was damaged. The severe thunderstorm also knocked down trees and electrical poles. There was one pole fire on Collins Street Northbound Delaware State Route 1 was closed until the afternoon of the 25th. Delmarva Power and Light reported about 170 of its customers in Dewey Beach lost power. A wind gust of 69 mph was measured at a WeatherFlow mesonet site within Dewey Beach.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees, at least one power pole and collapsed a barn in Long Neck around 905 AM EDT on June 25th.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down a few trees in the northeast part of Sussex County. About 400 homes and businesses lost power.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down large tree limbs and wires and caused power outages in Roxana (Baltimore Hundred).

A lightning strike around Silver Lake caused about 600 homes and businesses to instantaneously lose power in Rehoboth Beach. The power surge then affected transformers in the area and an additional 2,000 homes and businesses lost power in Rehoboth Beach. Smoke from one transformer forced the evacuation of the Star of the Sea Condominium. All power was restored by 1038 p.m. EDT that evening.

Thunderstorms produced about 2,300 cloud-to-surface lightning strikes in Sussex County and the nearby waters between 11 p.m. EDT and Midnight EDT. Two lightning strikes caused damage. Lightning struck the chimney of an unoccupied unit of a townhouse complex in Port Lewes. The ensuing fire spread along the exterior of the unit to the adjoining unit in the complex. The residents of that unit were evacuated. Four fire companies battled the blaze. Damage was estimated at $150,000. No serious injuries were reported. In Rehoboth Beach, the fire station and city hall were struck by lightning. The strike fried the 911 system. The combination of wind and lightning caused about 7,000 homes and businesses to lose power in Sussex County. All power was restored by 3 a.m. EDT on the 17th.|

A complex of thunderstorms came through the region during the evening producing high winds and heavy rain. A tornado was also on the ground in Greenwood,DE the evening of the 19th. 2,000 people lost power.

The southern edge of a slow moving cold front, extending from southern New Jersey into Delaware and Northeast Maryland, triggered some severe thunderstorms into the central Delmarva Peninsula during the late evening of the 4th where damaging wind gusts and power outages were reported.

The combination of a weak cold front and upper air disturbance triggered scattered strong to severe thunderstorms, which produced damaging winds and areas of heavy rain across portions of southern Delaware during the afternoon of the 9th. The combination of the lightning and damaging winds, caused about 11,000 homes and businesses in Kent and Sussex Counties to lose power. In Sussex County, most of the outages were in the eastern half of the county.

An approaching cold front helped trigger strong to locally severe thunderstorms across Sussex County in two waves. The first occurred during the middle of the morning on the 25th and the second during the early afternoon later that day. Both series of thunderstorms concentrated damage in the southeast half of the county with the Long Neck area affected the most. Approximately 6,500 Delaware Electric Cooperative and Delmarva Power and Light customers lost power from Millsboro to Angola to Lewes and Dewey Beach. More than a half dozen power poles were blown down. About 2,800 homes and businesses were still without power at Noon EDT on the 25th.

Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front during the mid to late afternoon of the 24th and affected portions of the Delmarva and eastern Virginia. The combination of damaging winds and lightning caused about 5,500 customers to lose power across the Delmarva.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down a pine tree and snapped a flag pole on one property in Bacons. The thunderstorm also snapped several large tree limbs and also blew away a water pump house lid that normally takes two people to move. Power outages in the area lasted for about two hours. The thunderstorm also brought heavy rain (3.1 inches was measured in Bacons) which caused some field and poor drainage flooding.

Frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and damaging winds from a pair of severe thunderstorms combined to cause about 1,500 homes and businesses in the Long Neck area of Sussex County to lose power for about 90 minutes.

A severe thunderstorm knocked over several trees, tree limbs and wires in the Long Neck area of Sussex County. The combination of the frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and damaging winds from the severe thunderstorms combined to cause about 1,500 homes and businesses in the Long Neck area of Sussex County to lose power for about 90 minutes.

A second severe thunderstorm knocked down more trees, tree limbs and wires in and around the Long Neck Area of Sussex County. The combination of the frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and damaging winds from the pair of severe thunderstorms caused about 1,500 homes and businesses in the Long Neck area of Sussex County to lose power for about 90 minutes.

A line of severe thunderstorms caused wind damage from Seaford east to Rehoboth Beach. Downed trees and tree limbs were reported in both Seaford and Rehoboth Beach. The main power line to Georgetown was knocked down around 5 p.m. EDT. Power was restored around 10 p.m. EDT that evening.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down large limbs and wires in Milton and caused scattered power outages.

A line of severe thunderstorms produced wind damage from Seaford east to the coast across the central third of Sussex County. The worst reported wind damage was in the Angola area of Indian River Hundred with the Pinewaters development near State Route 24 taking the hardest hit. Eighteen trees were knocked down on one property, two damaged the house. Two trees fell onto the roof of another house and a third tree fell completely through the house's sunroom. A third house had its roof dented by a fallen tree. Elsewhere in the county, a large tree damaged a garage in Georgetown. Numerous tree limbs and wires were torn down in and around Seaford. A trailer was also overturned in Seaford. A wind gust to 58 mph was measured at the Pilot Tower in Lewes. Delaware Electric Cooperative reported about 250 of its customers lost power in Seaford after a blown antenna tore down power lines. 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 severe thunderstorm knocked down several trees and wires from Lewes southeast to the coast around Rehoboth Beach. An awning was ripped and tossed onto a power line.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down a few trees and wires down in the southwestern part of Sussex County in Blades, Gumboro and Laurel. About 5,500 Conectiv Energy and Choptank Cooperative Electric customers lost power because of the severe thunderstorms across the Delmarva Peninsula that afternoon and evening.

A severe thunderstorm uprooted giant trees, ripped pieces of roofs off of buildings, mangled metal signs and toppled utility poles in Bridgeville. It also flipped several refrigerated trailers and toppled farm irrigation systems. Three utility poles were toppled along Delaware State Route 404. A section of one roof was found wrapped around a transmission line. A huge downed tree smashed the guest house and garage of a home on Delaware State Route 404. The wind also blew out a windshield of a vehicle. About 3,000 homes and businesses throughout Sussex County including Bridgeville and Greenwood lost power during the evening because of the severe thunderstorms.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down several trees and large limbs in the east central part of Sussex County. Wind damage and power outages were reported in Georgetown, Long Neck and Sandtown. Two homes were damaged by the downed trees. About 3,000 homes and businesses lost power because of the severe thunderstorms in Sussex County that evening.

Very heavy rain which persisted over Sussex County from midnight through early afternoon on the 1st caused considerable poor drainage flooding as well as flooding of area streams. In Georgetown, 3.41 inches of rain fell between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. EDT. Through 110 p.m. on the 1st, a trained SKYWARN Spotter reported 7.50 inches of rain in Millsboro. There were road closures in about two dozen locations throughout the county including U.S. Routes 9 and 113 and Delaware State Road 20. Most of the road closures were east of U.S. Route 113. Two vehicles were flooded at the intersection of U.S. Routes 9 and 113. The Georgetown Plaza Shopping Center flooded and vehicles were stranded in the Walmart parking lot in Seaford. Roads were also reported flooded in Millsboro and Lewes. In Oak Orchard roads and yards were flooded. The worst damage from the heavy rain occurred on the 3rd in Millsboro. The middle section of the Christian Storehouse roof collapsed. The building was in the process of getting a new roof installed and older sections could not support the weight of the rain and the bundles of new shingles which were left on the roof. Items (clothing) on the first floor thrift shop were lost. The building was condemned. The heavy rain also caused a microorganism bloom in the Torquay Canal. Storm totals included 8.12 in Lewes, 6.65 inches in Georgetown and 6.17 inches in Milford (Sussex/Kent County Line). Wind gusts to around 30 mph and the heavy rain pushed over some shallow trees and broke some tree branches during the morning of the 1st. About 3,000 homes and businesses lost power.

Thunderstorms produced considerable cloud-to-ground lightning across southeastern Sussex County. The resulting strikes caused several fires from Bethany Beach to Millville. In Millville, six homes were struck by lightning. Two suffered significant damage. One home had its entire interior singed. In Ocean View, a garage was destroyed. In Bethany Beach, two units of the Sea Colony Townhouses suffered moderate to severe fire damage. Witnesses saw lightning strike the roof of one of the townhouses. In downtown Bethany Beach, lightning struck the transformer at the back of one store. It knocked out the power to the store and its phone service was out until the next day. The liquor store next door could not get its computer or register to work properly until the 22nd. No serious injuries were reported.

Thunderstorms with damaging winds knocked down trees onto poles and wires in Lewes. Three inch rains that fell with the storm hampered utility companies. Power was restored by midnight EDT.

A lightning strike caused about 17,000 Bethany Beach residents to lose power during the afternoon of the 11th.