Heavy Rain, New Castle
- When
- December 31, 11:58 PM EST
- Where
- New Castle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Delaware, December 31, 1996
December 1996 was one of the wettest Decembers on record for Delaware. Rainfall amounts were about four to five inches above normal.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- 4
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.
December 1996 was one of the wettest Decembers on record for Delaware. Rainfall amounts were about four to five inches above normal. County average monthly totals ranged from 7.4 inches in Sussex County to 8.8 inches in New Castle County. At the New Castle County Airport near Wilmington, the 7.96 inches of precipitation in December established a new monthly record. The previous was 7.90 inches set in 1969.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Kent
- When
- December 31, 11:58 PM EST
- Where
- Kent forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.096, -75.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Inland Sussex
- When
- December 31, 11:58 PM EST
- Where
- Inland Sussex forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Delaware Beaches
- When
- December 31, 11:58 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware Beaches forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Weather in New York, December 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in California, December 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, December 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, December 31, 1996
- Dense Fog in Florida, December 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, December 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, December 31, 1996
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Maryland, December 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Maryland, December 31, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Delaware, December 31, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, December 31, 1996
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, December 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: 5576982, 5576983, 5577604, 5577605.