Watch a timelapse of people sledding at Glasgow Park in Glasgow Wednesday. Daniel Sato/The News Journal
Wednesday's winter weather was in full swing over Delaware by noon following a slow, but icy start to a storm that's still expected to leave a thick blanket by the time it's done.
Snowfall totals in Delaware have exceeded 1 inch at some monitoring stations and at others are creeping higher. As much as 1 foot of snow is in the forecast.
The ongoing storm, which began with snow and icy rain Tuesday afternoon, could last throughout the night, forecasters predict. It's the fourth nor'easter of the month.
A snowfall rate of between half an inch to 1 inch per hour will last from about 10 a.m. to at least 7 p.m., according to forecasters at AccuWeather. Snow will taper off at night.
Temperatures Wednesday in northern Delaware have hit freezing or just below.
The governor declared a state of emergency effective at midnight Wednesday, allowing the National Guard to mobilize resources to assist with the state's weather response.
The National Guard said it was prepositioning personnel and vehicles in New Castle and Sussex counties, this includes soldiers, Humvees and a wrecker in Wilmington, along with light medium tactical vehicles (LMTV) and operators in Georgetown.
LMTVs are capable of transporting up to 15 passengers and because of their high clearance can operate in up to four feet of water. The Guard is also providing liaison officers at Emergency Operations Centers in those counties.
"We are in constant communication and coordination with DEMA and all first responders in the state," said Delaware National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Carol Timmons.
Governor John Carney has announced a Level 1 driving warning, that encourages drivers to stay home unless there is a significant reason, health or otherwise to be on the roads.
All DART buses in New Castle County and Kent County have announced they will stop running after 6 p.m.
Most of the snow is expected through late afternoon. Snow rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour are possible under the heaviest bands, according to the National Weather Service.
NWS predicts New Castle and Kent counties could see between 8-12 inches snow. In Sussex County, the forecast calls for 3-4 inches of snow.
Snowfall reached 1.3 inches at the Delaware Environmental Observing System Snow Monitoring Network's Glasgow and New Castle sensors. In Hockessin, about 1.2 inches already fell. Those two stations represented the heaviest accumulation by that time.
New Castle County resident woke up to find severe predictions had not yet come to pass. Though cars and roadways were icy, snowfall hadn't arrived.
Around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a few people, all bundled up, were walking on Market Street in Wilmington. Two young girls had a brief snow fight before their mom shuffled them into Walgreens. A majority of the sidewalks were filled with icy slush since only a couple employees were shoveling and salting outside of businesses.
A handful of businesses were closed on Wednesday morning. The Starbucks on Market Street planned to close in the early afternoon because of the weather.
In Delaware City, ice coated cars and trees alike. School buses usually seen at first light were conspicuously absent Wednesday morning, as several local school districts canceled classes thanks to the weather. Many also dismissed students early Tuesday.
Parents were glad school administrators were being cautious.
"Appreciate they made the decisions early for the safety of the children," Ronnie Williams, who is running for a spot on the Colonial School Board, said on Facebook. "But not too excited for another day off as I think they have exhausted the allocation that's built-in for snow days."
It was too icy to go outside, but New Castle County parent Stephanie Hart had a way to keep the kids occupied.
"Netflix," she said. "Lot of Netflix. I can't complain about snow days because I can work from home very easily."
Those in Sussex didn't wake up to any snow, either. The southern portion of the state is cold and damp, but flooding concerns may worsen with the noon and evening high tides.
Some areas along the west side of the Inland Bays, known to flood during severe, lingering nor'easters, have recorded more than 1 inch of rain in the last 24 hours.
Strong winds remained steady, with the most intense gusts along the Atlantic Coast. Monitoring stations at Rehoboth Beach, the Indian River inlet and Bethany Beach recorded peak gusts at nearly 40 mph. Inland Sussex saw gusts between 33-37 mph.
The snow is falling heavy and wet, making it difficult to shovel and causing it to weigh heavier on trees and power lines. Along with strong winds, this makes power outages and tree damage likely throughout the heaviest periods of snow and beyond.
At 2:40 p.m., Delmarva Power reported 53 outages affecting more than 5,800 customers, mostly in the Latime Estates area.
Storm force winds and rough seas are expected on the coastal waters of New Jersey and Delaware and on Delaware Bay through the afternoon, according to NWS.
Airlines had canceled more than 4,390 U.S. flights Wednesday afternoon, according to flight tracker FlightAware.com. That number was expected to rise significantly.
Newark Liberty International in Newark, New Jersey, had the most cancellations Wednesday afternoon — 969 flights or 74 percent of its total, according to FlightAware.com.
Each of this month's three nor'easters resulted in more than 3,000 cancellations. In total, more than 10,000 flights were canceled because of March weather, according to FlightAware. It's been the worst march for flights since 2013, when tracking began.
As snow began to accumulate Wednesday morning across Delaware, state workers were told they could go home early. 3/21/18 Jerry Smith & Jason Minto/The News Journal
Watch a timelapse of people sledding at Glasgow Park in Glasgow Wednesday. Daniel Sato/The News Journal
Snow fall around Greenville and Elsmere. Jennifer Corbett/The News Journal
Raw video: Snow fall in Dover Jason Minto/The News Journal/USA TODAY
The Delaware National Guard began preparing Wednesday to help the state with any ice, snow, or flooding issues that may arise during this latest nor'easter. 3/21/18 John J. Jankowski Jr. & Damian Giletto
Snow started to fall from the nor'easter passing over Delaware Wednesday morning. Jennifer Corbett/The News Journal
Traffic flows on I-95 North at about 10am Wednesday. Daniel Sato/The News Journal
Residents in Trolley Square spend the morning chipping ice of vehicles from nor'easter. Jennifer Corbett/The News Journal
Delaware braces for the coming storm as the fourth nor'easter is forecast to drop snow totals in New Castle County around 12-18 inches, Kent County could see 6-8 inches and Sussex County may see 4-6 inches. Suchat Pederson/The News Journal
A nor'easter on the first full day of spring could dump as much as a foot of snow in parts of Delaware on Wednesday. Jerry Habraken, Jennifer Corbett & Damian Giletto/The News Journal
Snow sends state workers home early
Timelapse of sledding at Glasgow Park
Raw snow video Greenville and Elsmere
Raw video: Snow fall in Dover
Raw Video: Delaware National Guard to aid in snowstorm
Snow begins to fall raw video
Raw video: Morning traffic flows on I-95
Motorist chipped off first round of nor'easter
Delaware braces for coming snowstorm
Freezing rain to change to all snow on Wednesday
Roadway incidents and closures
Delaware Department of Transportation trucks were salting roads Wednesday morning, according to spokesman C.R. McLeod.
The City of Newark asked people don't park along E. Main Street. The city will tow cars to keep the roads clear for city crews to clear the coming snow.
In New Castle County, state police responded to 78 roadway accidents, five with injuries, between 2 p.m. Tuesday and 2 p.m. Wednesday. State police responded to 15 disabled vehicles and eight traffic hazards in the county during those hours.
In Kent County, state police responded to 32 roadway accidents, seven with injuries, between 2 p.m. Tuesday and 2 p.m. Wednesday. State police responded to 13 disabled vehicles and 11 traffic hazards in the county during those hours.
State police reported four crashes, one with injuries in Sussex County as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Several back roads in Kent County are closed due to several fallen trees.
A tree and downed wires reported shortly before 4 p.m. on Paddock Road and Eagles Nest Landing Road near Smyrna may be impacting traffic.
River Road in Oak Orchard closed due to flooding shortly after the noon high tide.
The speed limit on both spans of the Delaware Memorial Bridge was reduced to 25 mph due to reduced visibility and poor driving conditions.
Del. 1 south of the toll plaza was closed early Wednesday morning because a marked New Castle County Police patrol vehicle overturned, trapping an officer inside. The officer was rescued from the vehicle and taken to a local hospital, and New Castle County Police said he's expected to be treated and released.
The roadway has since been reopened.
School and government closures
All New Castle County government offices and facilities are closed Wednesday.
All State of Delaware offices in New Castle County are closed Wednesday.
All City of Wilmington offices are closed Wednesday.
All Kent County government offices will close at noon Wednesday.
School districts with closures include:
- Appoquinimink School District
- Brandywine School District
- Caesar Rodney School District
- Cape Henlopen School District
- Capital School District
- Christina School District
- Colonial School District
- Indian River School District
- Red Clay Consolidated School District
- Seaford School District
- Smyrna School District
- Woodbridge School District
Return here throughout the day for the latest breaking weather news and reports.
Contact at aduvernay@delawareonline.com or (302) 319-1855 or @duvINdelaware.