Three shelters are open in Sussex County, but many people hunkered down with friends and relatives or moved to area hotels.

The area took a major hit from a strong winter storm this past weekend with heavy snow and strong winds. Accumulations ranged from nearly a foot in Rehoboth Beach to 16 to 18 inches in the Lewes area to 20 inches in the Milton area. Areas to the west and north received as many as 2 feet of snow.

Gov. Jack Markell issued a state of emergency Saturday, Feb. 6, and all residents were warned to stay off the roads or face a fine. The state of emergency, with the driving restrictions removed, was still in place Monday, Feb. 8.

As of Monday, more than 14,000 Sussex County residents were still without power; many have been in the dark since early Saturday morning.

Crews have been unable to reach some areas, said Westhoff. Private contractors with snow-removing equipment have been assigned to work with electric crews, he said.

The snow started falling Friday night and didn’t stop until late Saturday afternoon with blizzard conditions occurring Saturday afternoon.

The storm caused numerous closings Monday including county and state offices. Schools were closed until at least Tuesday, Feb. 9, and that closure is likely to be extended.

More snow in the forecast

As many people have barely been able to get out of their driveways, another winter storm is in the forecast this week with snow and a wintry mix expected to start falling late Tuesday, Feb. 9, into Wednesday, Feb. 10. Nearly 10 inches of snow fell during a storm last weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for Delaware with a prediction of 3 to 6 inches.

However, even if it starts as a rain/snow mix in southern Delaware and along the coast, it is forecast to turn to all snow later in the storm, said Rosanne Pack, Delaware Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman.

“It’s really important for people who can get out to be aware that another system is coming and they need to restock,” said Debra Jones, spokeswoman for the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center. “It’s also important to clear out driveways.”

She said it could end up as a rain event, but it could also be snow and ice.

Crews on secondary roads

Westhoff said on Sunday afternoon, DelDOT’s priority was shifted from plowing primary roads to plowing secondary roads. “Even though some primary roads are not good, we need at least one lane open on secondary roads,” he said. Road crews were brought in from New Castle County to help with snow removal.

It may be Tuesday or even Wednesday before crews start to clear snow from developments whose roads are maintained by the state, he said.

In addition, private contractors have been hired to help clear intersections and merge lanes. Contractors have also been assigned to electric crews to plow paths in areas of power outages. DelDOT snowplows have been assigned to National Guard Humvees as well. “The Humvees were even getting stuck in some areas,” Westhoff said.

Westhoff said no one is talking about the cost of the storm. “Our main priority is getting people safe,” he said. “No one has a calculator out now.” National Guard troops are working in shifts around the clock to assist residents with a concentration on Sussex County. Over the weekend, the Guard helped to move or assist 1,200 people.

Power companies bring in help

Sussex County was hit especially hard because of icy conditions and wind during the storm. Electric companies are working around the clock to have most areas restored by late Tuesday before another storm hits the area.

Outages are scattered throughout the county, with central to eastern Sussex hit the hardest. One major circuit is out in the south-central section of the county affecting more than 1,100 Delaware Electric Cooperative customers.

Gary Stockridge, president of Delmarva Power, said road conditions have made damage assessment and restoration of electric service challenging. At 5 p.m. Sunday, the company had 8,300 customers without power with the majority in Sussex County.

“This is an extended restoration effort, meaning many customers may be without service for up to several days,” he said. He noted the majority should be back on line by Tuesday. As of Monday morning, Delmarva Power still had more than 8,000 customers without power.

Delaware Electric Cooperative crews were able to restore power to more than 14,000 customers from Saturday night into Sunday, but as of Monday morning, there were still more than 6,600 customers without power.

Rob Book, cooperative spokesman, said anyone without power on Monday should consider relocation to one of three emergency shelters in the county. Shelters, operated by the Red Cross, were established at Milford Middle School, Sussex Central High School and Cape Henlopen High School. Early Monday, fewer than 100 people were in the shelters, with six people at Cape Henlopen High. The cooperative has 40 crews of more than 1,200 line workers working in Sussex and Kent counties. The crews include workers from North Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia.