Sleet and Winter Weather in Delaware, January 9, 1997

Double barrel low pressure systems spread a mixture of sleet and freezing rain across the northern half of Delaware. Precipitation started briefly as light snow across northern New Castle County. Precipitation spread across the area by noon on the 9th. Strong east winds helped change it from sleet and freezing rain to plain rain from southeast to northwest across the state. Very little freezing precipitation occurred in Sussex County. The significant precipitation ended by the late evening of the 9th. The wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain did cause slippery roads and contributed to a fatal accident just west of Dover. A 49-year-old and 66-year-old woman were both killed when they collided head-on with another vehicle. Farther north along Interstate 495 traffic was stopped for "miles" during rush hour due to the combination of slippery roads and accidents., The lows went from the central Ohio Valley and Georgia the morning of the 9th to Lake Huron (the former) and Boston (the latter) the morning of the 10th. Keeping separate identities prevented these lows from dropping heavier precipitation across the area.