Winter in Delaware

I have lived in Delaware since the summer of 2001 and can tell you that winter in Delaware is typically pretty mild – that’s coming from a Florida girl too! This year, the Northeast has been hit by storm after storm and the Weather Channel (which I love watching so much my husband finds it very odd) makes every storm seem like a BIG one! The people in the south (Florida mainly, Georgia got smacked this year too!) laugh in their 70° and 80° weather posting things like “In Florida, we salt our Margaritas” on Facebook. .. while in the north we are posting weather maps that say “just kill me” instead of the expected # of inches. Despite the whining that you might see on Facebook, Delaware really has fared pretty well in my opinion – at least Kent County has. Wilmington has seen more snow than central & southern Delaware, but Wilmington is like a different state all together when comparing the area to the rest of the state! We have definitely had a higher total accumulation this year than most, but on average, it’s been about 3 inches per storm, give or take an inch. We might’ve seen 6 to 8 inches with one snow, but it turned to rain in the early morning, leaving us with about 3. Just enough to have a SNOW DAY – YEAH!! But also just enough to make you a bit of a wussy if you don’t brave the roads the following day! I have been able to drive my front wheel drive (with traction control though!) GMC Acadia out of my non-plowed driveway every time and make the 3 mile journey to a main road safely … although this last time, the main roads were a bit more treacherous due to the freezing rain that came before the snow. DelDOT has done a great job on making sure Route 13 is passable! Some will complain about the secondary roads, but when people don’t stay OFF the roads during the storm, they are compacting the snow to the point that it wouldn’t matter how hard DelDOT tried, that ice isn’t going anywhere until the sun blesses us with it’s awesome melting power!  So if you’re one of those who rides around town during a snow storm… please don’t!

Most other years since 2001, the snow in Delaware has been minimal. Some years, never more than a dusting! Of course, I do remember back to back storms a few years back that left us with a few feet after it was all said and done! We actually had to bust out the snow blower – we rarely do that!  I believe it was 2009/2010 winter ? I’ve been looking for the history of snowfall in Delaware, and well, I have been on weather site after weather site and I just can’t seem to find what I am looking for…. I wish I could tell you the year of each big storm like I was grandma telling stories in my rocking chair, but my memory doesn’t serve me that way… I THINK it was in 2002/2003 winter that we had a ton of snow as well… so much that I remember my Honda Civic was almost completely covered! I have photos… but guess what? That was so long ago that they aren’t digital!

What it boils down to for me? I love the winter in Delaware! I love it when it snows and everyone is posting their snowmen and covered decks… or their warm fireplaces just the same! It actually saddens me when winter passes by and we didn’t get a single snow day. Even though we had some negative temperatures this year (very rare!), I enjoyed all the snow! YET… it was fun for a while but we are all now completely over the cold weather and ready for the foliage to return! So please stop teasing us with 67 degrees one day and then 33 degrees the next! My tulips & daffodils are popping up and therefore I will ignore the forecast that stated we might have snow again in a few days.  I am SUPER excited that SPRING will be here in less than a week!! I sure would appreciate it though if someone would let Mother Nature know! I’m ready to clean up the garden, lay some new mulch and enjoy the daily show of new blooms! Keep an eye out for the Spring photos! Those are my favorite!

Here are a few photos of our snow fun over the years.