Flash Flood, New Castle
- When
- March 21, 4:25 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- New Castle County, Coochs Bridge
- Coordinates
- 39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Delaware, March 21, 1998
A couple of hours of heavy rain was all it took for the Christina River to flood in northern New Castle County Delaware for the third time this month. m.
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 couple of hours of heavy rain was all it took for the Christina River to flood in northern New Castle County Delaware for the third time this month. Heavy rain fell between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST and at 420 a.m. EST the Christina River at Coochs Bridge reached its flood stage of 9 feet. It crested at 10.55 feet at 7 a.m. EST and the river was back within flood stage at 905 a.m. EST. Saturated grounds from previous heavy rains this month made the Christina River respond rapidly. Some low lying roadways near the river had to be closed. While the heavy rain was over by daybreak, some lingering light rain persisted into the early afternoon on the 21st. Storm totals included 1.20 inches at Newark and 1.18 inches at the New Castle County Airport. A low pressure system centered over North Carolina early in the morning on the 21st pumped moisture and heavy rain through the region.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Oregon, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Flood in Florida, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Flood in Florida, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Flood in Florida, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Vermont, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Maine, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in Massachusetts, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Flash Flood and Lightning Strike in Virginia, March 21, 1998
- Winter Storm in New York, March 21 to 22, 1998
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 21 to 22, 1998
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, March 1998
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: 5636704.