Delaware, 2003

Storm Surge in Delaware, November 24, 2003

November 24, 2003 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The combination of spring astronomical tides associated with the new moon and a weak southeast flow caused by an approaching cold front from the west in conjunction with a high pressure system over the nearby Atlantic Ocean produced minor tidal flooding along the Delaware River. Minor tidal flooding also occurred along the tributaries of the Delaware River.

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

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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.

The combination of spring astronomical tides associated with the new moon and a weak southeast flow caused by an approaching cold front from the west in conjunction with a high pressure system over the nearby Atlantic Ocean produced minor tidal flooding along the Delaware River. Minor tidal flooding also occurred along the tributaries of the Delaware River. At Reedy Island, the tide on the Delaware River crested at 7.39 feet above mean lower low water at 1124 a.m. EST. Minor flooding begins at 7.2 feet above mean lower low water.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 24, 10:30 AM EST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 24, 10:30 AM EST, 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION - UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1030 AM EST MON NOV 24 2003

AS THE LOW CLOUDS AND FOG CONTINUE TO DISSIPATE, WEVE DISCONTINUED
THE DENSE FOG ADVISORY.

CLOUDS AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT HAVE ALREADY MADE THEIR WAY OVER
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AND WESTERN VIRGINIA.  THE IDEA OF CLOUDS
ARRIVING HERE BY LATE AFTERNOON CONTINUES TO SEEM REASONABLE ALONG
WITH THE MENTION OF RAIN FOR THIS EVENING.

THE UPDATED ZONE FORECASTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ISSUED.

.PHI...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK ISLAND DE.

IOVINO
Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 24, 4:20 AM EST, 6 hours 40 minutes before
DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-
060>062-067>071-241200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK - UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
420 AM EST MON NOV 24 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
PENNSYLVANIA...DELAWARE...THE NORTHERN MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE...AND
NEW JERSEY EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST COUNTIES.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

PATCHY DENSE FOG WILL DISSIPATE THIS MORNING A DENSE FOG ADVISORY
HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS MORNING FOR SOUTHEAST
PENNSYLVANIA...SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY...DELAWARE AND NORTHEAST
MARYLAND...OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. A COLD FRONT
WILL MOVE THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT AND MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY 30 MPH
WIND GUSTS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

RNS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 storm surge/tide. Local standard time, as filed.

Storm Surge/Tide, New Castle

When
November 24, 11:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
Where
New Castle forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Storm Surge/Tide
Water pushed ashore above the normal tide by a storm’s winds and low pressure.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Delaware in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, November 2003The 2003 hurricane season

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: 5328144.