Flash Flood, New Castle
- When
- April 16, 5:30 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- New Castle County, Northern
- Coordinates
- 39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Delaware, April 16, 1996
which averaged around 2 inches in the headwater region of the Christina River Basin in Chester and New Castle Counties caused the flooding of several streams including the Christina. m.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
Heavy rain...which averaged around 2 inches in the headwater region of the Christina River Basin in Chester and New Castle Counties caused the flooding of several streams including the Christina. Most of the heavy rain fell between 11 p.m. EDT on the 15th and 6 a.m. EDT on the 16th. The Christina River reached its flood stage of 9 feet at 630 a.m. EDT, crested at 10.8 feet at 9 a.m. EDT and was back within bankfull by noon EDT. No serious damage or injuries were reported. But three young boys had to be rescued by boat from trees they were clinging to after they waded into and were swept downstream into the river. A fourth boy with them ran for help. Storm totals included 2.20 inches in Honey Brook, 2.23 inches in Glenmoore, 1.55 inches in Chadds Ford, 1.40 inches in Newark and 1.09 inches in Wilmington. A slow moving cold front was responsible for the heavy rain. Weak low pressure systems moving north along the frontal boundary enhanced the heavy rain across Southeastern Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Washington, April 16, 1996
- Hail in California, April 16, 1996
- Flooding in Maine, April 16 to 18, 1996
- Flash Flood in Connecticut, April 16, 1996
- Hail in California, April 16, 1996
- Debris Flow in Maine, April 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New Jersey, April 16, 1996
- Hail in California, April 16, 1996
- High Wind in South Carolina, April 16, 1996
- Hail in California, April 16, 1996
- Flooding in New York, April 16, 1996
- Flood in California, April 16, 1996
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, April 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5561266.