Winter Weather, New Castle
- When
- January 22, 5:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
- Where
- New Castle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather in Delaware, January 22, 1997
A moist south to southeast flow from Delaware Bay passing over road surfaces that were very cold from the recent deep freeze helped black ice to form on roadways, bridges and overpasses the morning of the 22nd. This thin layer of ice that is virtually impossible to detect helped contribute to three traffic fatalities and over 100 injuries in the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.
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 moist south to southeast flow from Delaware Bay passing over road surfaces that were very cold from the recent deep freeze helped black ice to form on roadways, bridges and overpasses the morning of the 22nd. This thin layer of ice that is virtually impossible to detect helped contribute to three traffic fatalities and over 100 injuries in the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. All the fatalities occurred in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Winter Weather
- Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Weather in New York, January 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 22, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Utah, January 22 to 23, 1997
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 22, 1997
- Heavy Snow in California, January 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, January 22, 1997
- Winter Weather in New York, January 22, 1997
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 22, 1997
- Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 22, 1997
- Flash Flooding in California, January 22, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 22 to 23, 1997
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 22, 1997
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, January 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: 5596699.