Delaware, 1999

High Wind in Delaware, November 2, 1999

November 2, 1999 · NWS PHI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

An unseasonably humid air mass spread across the Middle Atlantic States on November 2nd. A couple of bands of showers preceding a cold front attached to a rapidly intensifying low pressure system moved through Delaware during the afternoon and early evening of the 2nd.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 unseasonably humid air mass spread across the Middle Atlantic States on November 2nd. A couple of bands of showers preceding a cold front attached to a rapidly intensifying low pressure system moved through Delaware during the afternoon and early evening of the 2nd. These bands tapped into the very strong winds located just above the surface and mixed them to the ground. This produced wind damage in Delaware mainly in the form of downed trees, tree limbs and wires. The worst damage was reported in New Castle County where 15,000 homes and businesses lost power. Most of the power outages occurred in Bear, Hockessin, Elsmere, North Wilmington and Brandywine Hundred. A downed tree damaged a vehicle in Christina. Elsewhere in the state, the most concentrated outages occurred in Millsboro as 1,500 homes and businesses lost power. No serious injuries were reported. The peak wind gust at New Castle County Airport was 57 mph.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Delaware Beaches

When
November 2, 2:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware Beaches forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Inland Sussex

When
November 2, 2:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Inland Sussex forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Kent

When
November 2, 2:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Kent forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
39.096, -75.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, New Castle

When
November 2, 2:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
New Castle forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Delaware in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, November 1999

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: 5721462, 5721463, 5721464, 5721465.