Delmarva shovels, plays in record snow near 10 inches

Two things Delmarva residents apparently do after major storms — shovel snow and find the nearest place to sled.

Kirstin Gibson of Salisbury, like many Lower Shore residents, decided she had enough cabin fever and headed out of the house Sunday, a day after a winter storm dumped as much as a foot of snow in some areas.

Gibson and her children Lucy and Robby joined others who were sledding in Salisbury City Park Sunday morning, using a body board and the lid of a storage bin because local stores had sold out of sleds.

Laundry baskets did not work, Gibson said. The body board had marginal results, but the lid did well.

Lucy declared the 10-inch accumulation “awesome,” but her mom, a Pittsburgh native, called it “pretend snow.”

Regardless of quality, 9 inches of snowfall arrived on Saturday in Salisbury, topping the record of 8.1 inches set in 1958, according to the National Weather Service. Wallops Island also set a record with 10 inches, passing the old record of 4.7 inches set in 1996.

Snowfall on the Virginia Eastern Shore and lower Eastern Shore of Maryland averaged between 9 to 12 inches, according to the National Weather Service. In Maryland, Princess Anne recorded 10.5 inches, followed by Snow Hill at 10 inches and Salisbury at 9 inches.

Temperatures are expected to remain below freezing Monday, but warmer weather with highs in the 60s is expected by the end of the week, according to the weather service.

Aftermath

​The record totals meant cleanup for many residents, who spent their Sunday mornings clearing off their cars or shoveling sidewalks.

Salisbury resident David Long was out shoveling snow early Sunday morning in the downtown.

Long said when he grew up on a farm in Princess Anne, it took his dad took a day to walk to retrieve a tractor and dig out his family.

During those winters from his past, he wasn't snowed in for a day as he expects with Saturday's storm, but all winter, Long said.

The silver lining to the snow is how light it is, Long said.

"You can't push wet snow like this," he said as he shoved another pile off the city sidewalk.

At Ts Market on North Salisbury Boulevard, owner Sajjad Shah said he was open Saturday during the storm and again on Sunday. Business was steady, mostly with foot traffic.

Since buying the shop a year ago, Shah said his children have waited for snow, but while they enjoy playing in it, for his part Shah said it's too cold.

In Ocean City, the aftermath of 10 inches of snow didn't stop Chuck Morris from staying busy. The Ocean City resident was outside at 8 a.m. shoveling sidewalks for free around Fourth Street downtown.

"It gives me something to do," he said. "I don't like being cooped up in the house for too long."

READ MORE: Snow: Love it or hate it, Delmarva has plenty

Mary Ann Davis, of Ocean City, was surprised to wake up and see almost a foot of snow on the ground. She has a sister in Kent Island, who she said usually gets worse weather.

"I honestly thought we were going to get a dusting," she said. "The weather is so unpredictable and this much snow here is rare. My sister in Kent Island didn't even get this much."

Dan Wheeler, of West Ocean City, was taking his time to drive around on the snow-packed roads to take aftermath photos.

"It's beautiful — like a clean slate for the new year," he said. "The roads are pretty passable, the main ones at least."

"Bring your ice skates" 

In Somerset County, main roads had been plowed, but most were still covered in a layer of snow and ice that started to thaw in Sunday's sunshine.

"It's just going to freeze again tonight," said Janie Jones, a county 911 dispatcher. "Bring your ice skates."

In spite of snow as deep as a foot in some areas, Jones said there had been no major problems in Somerset County.

"Knock on wood, we haven't had anything yet," she said.

Blowing snow and ice-covered roads are a danger Sunday morning, as are dangerous wind chills. Low temperatures dipped to 10 to 15 degrees above zero overnight with wind chills at or near slightly below zero.

It also didn't stop the world-famous ponies on Chincoteague Island, despite icy conditions on the road.

However, in the streets of Chincoteague, all remained quiet although many of the main roads and business entrances have been packed down or scraped by the town or private entities.

The icy conditions didn't stop Ava and Melissa Barrett from taking a stroll through Memorial Park.

"We went down the slide and it was super fun," said Ava, bundled up in a colorful hat, scarf and jacket. "We crashed into a pile of snow."

Rick and Hulda Hamilton walked carefully down Sunnywood Drive with their four dogs. The Hamiltons said they thought the snow was nice, but they won't be disappointed when it melts. Rick said that shoveling their driveway after the heavy snowfall was a challenge.

"You know," said Rick Hamilton. "It's pretty tough."

Icy roads a problem in Delaware

About 10 inches of snow was dumped on southern parts of the state, with many roads still unplowed and untouched Sunday. The state Department of Transportation focused many of its resources on primary highways Saturday, though even travel on them was dangerous in places well into Saturday night.

While Sussex County is often spared heavy snowfall that hits northern Delaware, the highest state totals occurred near the southern border with Maryland.

One monitoring station in Selbyville measured 10 inches of snow around 4:30 p.m. A station in Bethany Beach counted 7.1 inches.

Further inland, a station in Laurel measured 8 inches of snow.

In Bethany Beach, cleanup crews worked diligently, shoveling snow off the boardwalk and sprinkling salt onto the roadways covered in a thick, icy blanket. Despite the treacherous road conditions, coupled with blistering cold and piercing wind, residents held a cavalier attitude, hopping down to the beach for an up-close look of where the water meets the white.

"It's just amazing," Bethany Beach resident Ron Lewis said. "It's the ocean, just seeing how it connects with the snow, what a great view."

Lewis, who moved to Bethany Beach permanently from northeast Pennsylvania three years ago, said the snowfall was nothing new to him.

"I'm used to it," Lewis said. "I come down here (the boardwalk) every Sunday. This time my wife wimped out, but I'm just hoping the coffee shop is open."

While Lewis said he'd seen similar snowfall in Bethany a few years back, the storm that struck Delmarva Saturday came as a shock to newer residents.

Terry Welch, who moved to Bethany Beach from West Virginia in October, was taken aback by the amount of snow.

"When we moved here, we were sure we left this all behind," Welch said. "When we got the forecast, I was just in denial, but now here we are."

Welch, looking off from the edge of the wooden walkway leading to the beach, said the view of waves crashing against the snow was worth braving the frigid weather.

"It's really just amazing," Welch said.

For resident Mike Wechsley, the snow was a welcome guest.

"I was out here in the middle of the storm, I even went in the water for a minute, with my boots on, of course," Wechsley said. "It's just incredible. It's something you don't see very often, and you just can't beat that ocean view during a snowstorm."

Overnight, crews from the Delaware Department of Transportation reported they made a great deal of progress across the state, removing snow from the state’s roads and bridges, and would continue to work through the day Sunday.

The primary roads across the state were mostly snow and ice free, so some assets were shifted to focus on secondary and minor roads. In addition, crews were working to clear snow from intersections and median crossovers.

In Sussex county, there were reports of some snow drifting back across previously cleared roads, so some roads required constant attention.

With hundreds of people and large pieces of equipment working on roads, bridges and intersections across the state, DelDOT officials once again asked motorists to drive very slowly and patiently when driving near a DelDOT plow.

Officials urge the following:

• Stay behind the snowplow. Don’t attempt to pass. The road behind a snowplow is safer to drive on. 
• Stay back at least 10 car lengths behind the snowplow, regardless of whether it is plowing or salting. Snowplows don’t always travel at consistent speeds. They may need to slow down or speed up to remove snow and ice that has been packed down by traffic.
• Be patient and remember snowplows are working to improve road conditions for your trip. The plow you see may be on its way to an assigned route, plowing or salting the road you are on, or about to begin plowing or salting the road. 
• Never drive close enough to a plow to be hit by snow and ice, salt or brine spray. Doing so is dangerous and can damage your vehicle.
• Stay alert for snowplows that may be slowing, stopping, turning or pulling over with little warning. They also may travel over center lines or along road shoulders to improve road conditions.