(Smyrna) – Governor Jack Markell ordered state offices closed between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm today, with non-essential employees told to not report while essential employees were to report at their normal times. County offices in New Castle and Sussex Counties were also closed today, while Kent County officers were opened, but with a liberal leave policy in effect. A statewide Winter Weather Warning remains in effect until 7:00pm this evening.
Although the storm system moved into Delaware much more slowly than originally expected, the National Weather Service continues to forecast 4-8 inches of snow in New Castle and Kent Counties, and 4-6 inches in Sussex County. Some areas of the state are now seeing moderate to heavy snow, which will continue throughout the afternoon. Accumulating snow is expected to end by sunset. Temperatures will drop tonight and overnight, resulting in low temperature at sunrise Friday in the single digits. North to northwest winds will combine with the low temperatures to create sub-zero wind chills. Winds gusting up to 30 MPH closer to the Atlantic coast could create some blowing snow.
The Delaware Environmental Observing System (DEOS) reports the highest amount of snowfall in the state so far is at Greenville with 3.8 inches, and less than a half-inch of snow so far in Smyrna. Some parts of Kent County are showing just a trace of snow on the ground, and no reported accumulation in Sussex County.
Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) are at work in all three counties. A number of minor collisions have been reported across the state as road conditions get more slippery.
The number of power outages across the state have been few so far, but officials remain concerned that the wet snow accumulation could result in downed power lines.
Many schools in Delaware closed for the day. A full listing of school closings is available at http://schoolclosings.delaware.gov/.