A significant winter storm for coastal Virginia brought light snowfall to southern Delaware along its northern fringe from the mid afternoon through evening of the 19th. About 1-4 of snowfall occurred in the southern half of Sussex County.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
A significant winter storm for coastal Virginia brought light snowfall to southern Delaware along its northern fringe from the mid afternoon through evening of the 19th. About 1-4 of snowfall occurred in the southern half of Sussex County.
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 Feb 19, 2:53 PM EST, 7 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 253 PM EST Wed Feb 19 2025 .SYNOPSIS... An area of low pressure deepens off the Carolina coast this evening then tracks northeastward and out to sea through Thursday. High pressure will build in later Friday into Saturday, then low pressure tracks across the Great Lakes region early next week with a weak cold front approaching our area. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... The cold conditions continue as a strengthening storm moves out to sea through Thursday. A closed midlevel low moves into the Ohio Valley later tonight, then right over our region by later in the day Thursday. Some initial energy well ahead of this feature will assist in surface low pressure continuing to organize off the Southeast U.S. coast. This storm will then deepen as it tracks northeastward and out to sea tonight and Thursday. Forcing for ascent along with an area of 700- 850 mb frontogenesis will result in a west to east area of snow that will mainly graze our southern Delmarva zones through this evening. The air mass in this area is moistening up now with some light snow being reported in the Easton, MD area. This should translated eastward into this evening. The air mass stays drier longer the farther north one goes though and given the more zonal flow aloft, the snow shield is not expected to get all that far north into our our forecast area. The frontogenesis could result in some higher snowfall rates edging into the far southern portions of Sussex County, DE however this remains low confidence as it appears the best forcing remains farther south. The 12z HREF places the greatest 1-hour snowfall rates south of our Delmarva zones. Confidence is lowering regarding advisory criteria being met in most of the Winter Weather Advisory area. It is the far southern portions of Talbot, Caroline and Sussex (DE) counties that should get up to 2 inches with the highest mostly across far southeastern Sussex County. Opted to keep the advisory going for now and see how things develop into this evening. Based on the latest guidance though, trimmed back the end time of the advisory to 06Z/1AM tonight. Farther north, any snow amounts will drop off quickly to little or nothing. Made some adjustments to the PoPs to reflect this, and areas outside of the Advisory look to mainly have to wait for the upper-level energy arriving Thursday afternoon for any snow. More on that below. Otherwise, the cold air remains in place along with rather low dew points. The dew points will inch upward some mainly in areas that get some light snow for a time this afternoon and tonight. Temperatures drop back into the teens with even some single digits up across the far northern areas where clouds should thin much more for a time. As we go through Thursday, the core of the closed midlevel low arrives especially in the afternoon. A model consensus shows snow showers developing in the afternoon associated with this. The low- level lapse rates steepen some along with deeper moisture in place above the surface, and as a result increased the PoPs across much of the area but kept them no higher than the chance range (scattered snow showers). Snowfall amounts with this are expected to be less than an inch, with just a light coating more likely for some spots. The pressure gradient will tighten from deepening well offshore low pressure and high pressure well to our west. The model forecast soundings support enough mixing that will result in an increasing northwesterly breeze which will become gusty. Peak gusts look to be in the 25-35 mph range. This increased wind along with temperatures once again remaining below freezing will drive down the wind chills. Wind chills are forecast to be in the teens across the area, with single digits across parts of the Poconos. The gusty winds and very cold air continues Thursday night. Low temperatures given the wind should not get as cold due to the mixing, with lows mainly in the upper teens to about 20F. Wind chill values get down into the single digits with near 5 below zero in the Poconos. As of now, the forecast values are not low enough for any Cold Weather Advisories. Some snow showers may linger for a time into the evening, however any activity should quickly end as the core of the closed mid level low shifts offshore. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... Surface high pressure remains in control of the weather across the Middle Atlantic thru this period. Meanwhile the upper air pattern deamplifies somewhat, so moderation of the recent cold temps can be expected. One last, frigid night Friday night/Sat morning with lows in the teens far N/W and low 20s for Delmarva and metro Philadelphia areas. Following that, highs Saturday will pop back to the upper 30s N/W and low 40s most other areas. Still a couple degrees below normal, but 10 to 12 degrees warmer than today (Wed) and tomorrow. Along with the high pressure, mostly clear skies much of the time. Winds will be light much of the time. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Overview: The upper pattern for the end of the weekend and into next week will feature a ridge across the western U.S. while a trough remain across the East. As the week continues, the ridge will strengthen while the trough becomes deeper. Overall, dry with milder temps early in the week and colder air late. After a period of frosty wintry readings for much of mid-February, temperatures back near normal are expected Sunday. Normals for this time of year are in the mid 40s for the Delaware Valley and south NJ while readings up north are normally in the mid/upper 30s for Mount Pocono and Sussex County NJ. Southern Delaware has average highs close to 50 degrees. Temperatures during the long term will feature temperatures back to normal or a little above with the upper trough relaxing across the Middle Altantic and Northeast. High temps are currently forecasted to go into the upper 40s or low 50s, perhaps some mid 50s across the region early next week. The mild readings should could hold in to weeks end when more cold air looms off in the distance. There is not much opportunity for significant precipitation during the long term. The moderating air mass/patter Sunday/Monday will steer a weak clipper-type system north of the region later Monday and into Tuesday. We have some NBM pops, mostly slight chc but chc across the north for those periods. P-type will favor snow north and rain south. Time of day will play into the p-type factor when the time nears. Overall, light totals are expected attm. && .AVIATION /19Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... The following discussion is for KPHL, KPNE, KTTN, KABE, KRDG, KILG, KMIV, KACY and surrounding areas. Rest of this afternoon...VFR. West-northwest winds around 10 knots. Moderate confidence. Tonight...VFR ceilings scatter out for a time. Any light snow this evening should stay south and east of KMIV and KACY. Northwest to north winds around 5 knots, becoming light and variable for a time at some terminals. Moderate confidence. Thursday...VFR ceilings, however a brief period of MVFR/IFR conditions (especially visibility) possible with some snow showers especially in the afternoon and early evening. North to northwest winds 12-18 knots with gusts up to 25 knots. Low confidence with the snow shower details. Outlook... Friday... VFR with decreasing clouds. Gusty W/NW winds up to 30 kts. Friday night ... VFR with gusty NW winds early. Sat thru Monday... VFR expected. && .MARINE... The conditions should be below Small Craft Advisory criteria through most of tonight. North to northwest winds however will increase some later tonight and Thursday morning, especially across the southern waters and Delaware Bay. As a result have issued a Small Craft Advisory for these areas ahead of the Gale Warning. The northwest winds increase some more Thursday night into Friday with gale force gusts expected for most zones and therefore the Gale Warning continues. Replaced the Gale Watch with a Small Craft Advisory for the two northern New Jersey coastal waters as the flow looks a bit weaker here Thursday night into Friday. Light freezing spray will occur at times, especially during the peak winds. Outlook... Friday night... Winds and seas diminish overnight. SCA flag into the evening may be needed. Fair weather. Sat thru Monday... sub-SCA expected. Fair weather. && SYNOPSIS...Gorse NEAR TERM...Gorse SHORT TERM...OHara LONG TERM...OHara AVIATION...Gorse/OHara MARINE...Gorse/OHara
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Light snowfall occurred with totals ranging generally from a dusting near Lewes to over 3 near Fenwick Island. The highest reported total was 3.5 near Bayville.
Light snowfall occurred with totals ranging generally from a dusting across the northern half of the county to 3-4 near the southern border with Maryland. The highest reported total was 4.5 in Selbyville.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Delaware in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, February 2025
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: 1236836, 1236839.