A northeaster dropped heavy snow across New Castle County and a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain elsewhere across Delaware. Snow began just after midnight EST on the 5th and fell heavy at times in New Castle County through 10 a.m. EST on the 5th. Farther to the south, air temperatures were warmer and the snow did not accumulate as well and mixed with and changed to plain rain quickly during the morning. In New Castle County, a mixture of light rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow continued throughout the rest of the day as plain rain or drizzle fell farther south. As the northeaster intensified off the New Jersey coast, colder air was drawn south. Precipitation fell as all snow in New Castle County on the 6th. But farther south precipitation transitioned from freezing rain to sleet and then all snow by around sunrise on the 6th. The snow ended around noon EST.  Accumulations ranged from a couple of inches in Sussex County to as much as one foot in New Castle County. Road crews had difficulty keeping back roads with northwestern exposure clear through the weekend (6th and 7th) as strong winds blew the snow back onto the roadways.  Ironically the heavy snow wreaked havoc with holiday parades, festivals and tree lightning ceremonies scheduled for the 5th and 6th. Schools had early dismissals in New Castle County. Many after school and weekend school activities were cancelled. Numerous accidents were reported. The college entrance SAT exams on the 6th were postponed. The winter storm put a big dent in the holiday shopping on Saturday the 6th. Some stores never opened. The racing card was cancelled on the 6th in Dover Downs. In New Castle County, about 170 minor accidents were reported, nearly one hundred vehicles were disabled on ramps. A 54-year-old woman was seriously injured after skidding into a heating oil tanker. In Brandywine, a school bus skidded into a stand of trees. Six students suffered minor injuries. In Kent County, thirty weather related accidents were reported on the 6th. Black ice forced the closure of Delaware State Route 1 between Dover Air Force Base and Odessa. Ten vehicles were involved in accidents within a ten minute span. On the 6th, over a dozen weather related accidents occurred in Sussex County.     Specific accumulations included 12.7 inches in Bear (New Castle County), 10.2 inches in Newark (New Castle County), 5.5 inches at the New Castle County Airport, 3.0 inches in Harrington and Smyrna (Kent County), 2.5 inches in Lewes (Sussex County) and Milton (Sussex County), 2.0 inches in Dover (Kent County) and Milford (Sussex County).  The Northeaster was over the Gulf Coast States the morning of the 4th. It moved northeast to near Cape Hatteras the morning of the 5th, was just east of the Virginia Capes the evening of the 5th, just east of Atlantic City the morning of the 6th and near Nantucket during the evening of the 6th. The heaviest precipitation fell during two sections of this storm. The first came during the first half of the day on the 5th as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean were lifted over the region. The second came during the morning of the 6th as the upper air system supporting the northeaster moved across the region.

Winter Storm in NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
From 05-DEC-03 01:00:00 to 06-DEC-03 11:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather in DELAWARE BEACHES, DELAWARE
From 06-DEC-03 03:00:00 to 06-DEC-03 13:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather in INLAND SUSSEX, DELAWARE
From 06-DEC-03 00:00:00 to 06-DEC-03 13:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather in KENT, DELAWARE
From 06-DEC-03 00:00:00 to 06-DEC-03 13:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER