Another major snowstorm slams the Smyrna-Clayton area

Didn’t we see this already?

Another major snowstorm blasted the Smyrna-Clayton area over the weekend, less than two months after a big snowfall paralyzed the area back in December.

The snow started falling late Friday afternoon and continued to accumulate through Saturday evening. The snow was at times accompanied by strong gusts.

Governor Jack Markell declared a state of emergency covering the entire state of Delaware starting at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Given the forecast, evening events at local schools were postponed, including the big Smyrna versus Caesar Rodney wrestling match that had been scheduled for Friday evening.

Providence Creek Academy let out of school at 1 p.m. on Friday as the snowstorm approached.

On Friday afternoon, Smyrna Town Manager Dave Hugg said that town workers from the Public Works and Electric departments were getting ready for a long weekend.

“Our guys will be in by 5 p.m., and I suspect they’ll be there through Sunday,” he said.

Hugg said that 26 town employees and 14 pieces of equipment would be involved in the snow removal effort over the weekend.

In what military planners called “Operation Arctic Vengeance,” soldiers from the Delaware National Guard worked in conjunction with local and state agencies during the storm. National Guard task forces were on hand to assist with emergency medical calls, fire and law enforcement calls, and dialysis patient transport.

Included in the state of emergency declaration, Gov. Markell ordered vehicles off the roads except for essential personnel starting at 10 p.m. on Friday. This driving restriction was later lifted at 8 p.m. Saturday.

According to a press release issued Saturday evening, Delaware State Police had reported “just six injury crashes, but 44 property damage crashes and an astonishing 235 reports of disabled vehicles” since the beginning of the storm.

There was no DART First State bus service over the weekend.

On Sunday, residents were digging their way out of the snow and clearing off their vehicles.

Dover resident Marium Jones, a driver for Domino’s Pizza in Smyrna, navigated snow-covered roads to deliver pizzas in town on Sunday afternoon.

“She’s four-wheel drive,” Jones said, gesturing to her truck.

Delivery was only available for residents who lived in town and on Rt. 13, and she wasn’t able to quote delivery times, she said.

The condition of the roadways also made travel difficult for those who planned to go elsewhere to watch Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday.

As of Monday morning, Gov. Markell had not yet lifted the state of emergency for Kent and Sussex counties.

Local schools were cancelled on Monday.

As if all that snow weren’t enough, forecasters were calling for yet another snowstorm to hit the area in the middle of this week.

Snowfall totals

Yardstick measurements of the snow depth at the Smyrna Municipal Park ranged from 14 to 17 inches, with an average of about 16 inches of accumulation.

Measurements were taken at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in an open, undisturbed area where drifting was not visibly apparent.

According to the Weather Channel’s website, weather.com, Dover received 22 inches of snowfall in the major snowstorm on Feb. 5-6, while Wilmington received 25.8 inches and Philadelphia got 28.5 inches.