Flood and High Wind in Delaware, March 21, 2000

The tight gradient (difference in surface pressures between a low pressure system along the Middle Atlantic Coastal Waters and a strong high pressure system in the Canadian Maritimes), produced high winds and some minor tidal flooding during the evening of the 21st. A peak wind gust of 67 mph was recorded in Delaware Bay. Three Delaware state employees that were sent to salvage a sinking dredge "The Diamond State" located about 1/4 mile from Broadkill Beach during the afternoon of the 21st had to be rescued themselves that evening. The dredge was swamped by water from high waves. A Coast Guard helicopter air lifted them to safety. Seas reached 8 feet and sustained winds in the bay reached as high as 45 knots (52 mph). On the mainland, the high winds caused the frame of a house under construction to collapse in Angola. The high winds knocked down a billboard in Lewes and small trees elsewhere. Branches and debris littered coastal townships. Several hundered homes lost power. The stiff onshore wind also caused some minor tidal flooding at the time of the evening high tide on the 21st. Flooding though was restricted to the first areas that "normally" flood. Some erosion occurred as the beaches were pounded by waves as large as 10 to 15 feet. Seas became very high because the northeast flow persisted for a couple of days. The high tide at Lewes reached 6.6 feet above mean lower low water at 1006 p.m. EST on the 21st.