The increasing pressure difference (gradient) between a rapidly intensifying low pressure system offshore and an arctic high pressure system moving east from the Great Lakes caused high damaging northwest winds to occur in Delaware during the pre-dawn hours on the 15th. Strong wind gusts started during the second half of the evening on the 14th, peaked overnight and continued into the early afternoon of the 15th. Peak wind gusts averaged 50 to 60 mph and knocked down or snapped numerous trees and tree limbs. This caused downed wires and power outages. About 10,000 homes and businesses lost power. The strong to high winds also hampered road crews trying to keep roadways clear from the snow that fell on the 14th. It also ushered into Delaware one of the coldest air masses of the entire winter season.
About 10,000 homes and businesses lost power in Delaware, with the greatest concentration of outages in and around Odessa in New Castle County. All power was restored by the evening of the 15th. Church services were cancelled as was service on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. The Brandywine Zoo (New Castle County) was closed.
Peak wind gusts included 68 mph in Lewes (Sussex County), 61 mph in Brandywine Hundred (New Castle County), 57 mph in Bellefont (New Castle County), 54 mph at the New Castle County Airport, 53 mph in Milton (Sussex County) and 51 mph in Dover (Kent County).
The high winds were caused by the increasing pressure gradient (difference) between the rapidly intensifying offshore low pressure system and a high pressure system over the western Great Lakes. The low pressure system deepened (intensified) from 996 millibars at 7 p.m. EST on the 14th to 978 millibars at 7 a.m. EST on the 15th, 972 millibars at 1 p.m. EST on the 15th and 962 millibars as it passed through Nova Scotia at 7 p.m. EST on the 15th. The arctic high pressure system also was quite strong and averaged 1042 millibars while the highest winds were occurring. The strong to high winds ceased on the afternoon of the 15th when the low pressure system was sufficiently east of Delaware (and the high pressure system reached Michigan) for the strongest pressure gradient to move offshore.