Coastal Flood, Delaware Beaches
- When
- December 29, 6:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware Beaches forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Coastal Flood in Delaware, December 29, 1997
A low pressure system formed to the lee of the Southern Rockies the morning of December 28th and moved east into the Tennessee Valley the morning of the 29th. A second low pressure system formed along the South Carolina Coast the morning of the 29th and intensified rapidly as it moved northward and became the main low pressure system.
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.
A low pressure system formed to the lee of the Southern Rockies the morning of December 28th and moved east into the Tennessee Valley the morning of the 29th. A second low pressure system formed along the South Carolina Coast the morning of the 29th and intensified rapidly as it moved northward and became the main low pressure system. The low moved inland along the New Jersey shore the night of the 29th. By 7 a.m. EST on the 30th it was located in southern Vermont.The strong onshore flow preceding the low pressure system caused some minor tidal flooding at the times of the evening high tide on the 29th. The heaviest rain in most places did not coincide with the incoming tide and thus did not exacerbate the flooding along the coastal communities. The high tides that evening included 6.1 feet above mean low water in Lewes. Tidal departures averaged between 2.0 and 2.5 feet above normal.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 coastal flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Coastal Flood
- Flooding of coastal land by the sea, from storm surge, onshore wind or high tides.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, December 29, 1997
- Winter Storm in Vermont, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in Vermont, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm in Alabama, December 29, 1997
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, December 29, 1997
- Coastal Flood and High Wind in New Jersey, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 29 to 30, 1997
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, December 29 to 30, 1997
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, December 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: 5624618.