Delaware, 1997

Cold in Delaware, April 9 to 11, 1997

April 9 to 11, 1997 · NWS PHI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

An unseasonably cold air mass from Canada moved across the Delmarva Peninsula from April 9th through the 11th. A cold front moved through the region during the night of the 8th and ushered in this unseasonably cold air mass.

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

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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.

An unseasonably cold air mass from Canada moved across the Delmarva Peninsula from April 9th through the 11th. A cold front moved through the region during the night of the 8th and ushered in this unseasonably cold air mass. The high pressure system at the center of it reached the Great Lakes the morning of the 10th and the Middle Atlantic Coast the morning of the 11th. Southwest winds around this high then modified the air mass and returned temperatures closer to seasonal levels. Low temperatures those three mornings were below the freezing mark in most areas. Unseasonably warm weather for most of late February and March preceding this cold spell had plants blooming ahead of schedule and some of the vegetation susceptible to the cold was damaged. The coldest morning was the 10th. Low temperatures that morning included 22F in Georgetown, 24F in Odessa, 26F at the New Castle County Airport, 28F in Bridgeville, 30F in Camden, 31F in Pennyhill and 32F in Lewes.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Delaware Beaches

When
April 9, 1:00 AM EST to April 11, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Delaware Beaches forecast zone
Coordinates
38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Inland Sussex

When
April 9, 1:00 AM EST to April 11, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Inland Sussex forecast zone
Coordinates
38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Kent

When
April 9, 1:00 AM EST to April 11, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Kent forecast zone
Coordinates
39.096, -75.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, New Castle

When
April 9, 1:00 AM EST to April 11, 8:00 AM EST
Where
New Castle forecast zone
Coordinates
39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, April 1997

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: 5604370, 5604371, 5604372, 5604373.