Coastal Flood, Delaware Beaches / X E Sussex
- When
- October 19, 8:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware Beaches / X E Sussex forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Coastal Flood in Delaware, October 19, 1997
An intense low pressure system that moved east of Cape Hatteras in combination with relatively high astronomical tides coming off the full moon on Wednesday the 15th produced minor tidal flooding around the time of the midday high tide on the 19th. Two low pressure systems formed off the South Atlantic Coast on the 18th: one near Cape Hatteras, the other just southeast of the South Carolina Coast.
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.
An intense low pressure system that moved east of Cape Hatteras in combination with relatively high astronomical tides coming off the full moon on Wednesday the 15th produced minor tidal flooding around the time of the midday high tide on the 19th. Two low pressure systems formed off the South Atlantic Coast on the 18th: one near Cape Hatteras, the other just southeast of the South Carolina Coast. They merged into one during the morning of the 19th east of Cape Hatteras. During the next 24 hours, this low deepened rapidly (or bombed) from 1000 mb the morning of the 19th to 976 mb the morning of the 20th. Fortunately for the Delaware shore, this low moved eastnortheast and not northeast. By the morning of the 20th, it was already about 750 miles east of the Delaware coastline. The highest tides associated with this low occurred during the midday high tide on Sunday the 19th. This caused some minor tidal flooding. The persistent northeast flow for a couple of days also caused rough surf and some beach erosion.
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
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5619752.