Delaware, 1996

Flash Flood in Delaware, June 19 to 20, 1996

June 19 to 20, 1996 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Slow moving thunderstorms with torrential downpours washed out two bridges and caused widespread street and highway flooding in the northern part of the county. Many roads were closed.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$300,000
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.

Slow moving thunderstorms with torrential downpours washed out two bridges and caused widespread street and highway flooding in the northern part of the county. Many roads were closed. Dover reported 3.11 inches of rain. One bridge washed out near Cheswold. Massey's Mill Pond Bridge was also washed out overnight on the 19th. Workers worked overnight to save the U.S. Route 13 bridge at Garrison's Lake. The lake itself started flooding at 7 p.m. EDT on the 19th. Four persons were rescued from flooded cars through 7 p.m. EDT on the 19th. Flooding also forced the evacuation of a mobile home park near Hartley. No serious injuries were reported.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Kent

When
June 19, 5:00 PM EST to June 20, 4:00 AM EST
Where
Kent County, Northern
Property damage
$300,000
Coordinates
39.096, -75.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Delaware in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, June 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: 5567639.