Following an Alberta Clipper low pressure system, another arctic air mass invaded Delaware. While temperatures were slightly higher than the previous outbreak on the 10th and 11th, winds were stronger and the wind chill factors were lower. Most low temperatures were around 10 degrees and the lowest hourly wind chill factors averaged around ten degrees below zero.  The unseasonably cold weather was a dangerous situation for the homeless as well as for the elderly who could not afford to heat their homes. There was another dramatic increase in phone calls to social services by individuals who have run out of heat or could not afford to pay their utility bills. The cold weather caused additional schools and community centers to be opened as shelters. Many municipalities declared code blues to assist the homeless. Teams went outside to locate homeless people and get them to shelters. The unseasonably cold weather caused many pipes to freeze and burst both inside and outside of structures as well as a higher occurrence of water main breaks. Plumbers and heating repair services had twenty-four hours worth of work. The Red Clay School District (New Castle County) cancelled classes on the 16th. The cold weather also led to another increase in workload in hospital emergency rooms. Fire fighters were having problems battling blazes as the water quickly turned to ice. In some instances the water was freezing in hoses and the trucks. Fire fighters were injured slipping and falling on the ice. There was a higher incidence of chimney fires and a general shortage of firewood. Many vehicles were not starting because of dead batteries. Specific low temperatures included 7 degrees in Wilmington (New Castle County), 8 degrees at the New Castle County Airport, 12 degrees in Dover (Kent County) and 13 degrees in Georgetown and Greenwood (Sussex County). The arctic air mass came barreling behind the departing Alberta Clipper low pressure system on the 15th. The low deepened explosively as it moved offshore and the pressure gradient between it and the building high pressure system brought the lowest wind chill factors of the winter into Delaware. The high pressure ridge moved from the Red River and Upper Mississippi Valleys on the morning of the 15th, to the Great Lakes and nearby Canada on the morning of the 16th and into Pennsylvania and New York on the morning of the 17th.  The core of the coldest air moved through the region during the night of the 15th with the lowest temperatures occurring between Midnight EST and 6 a.m. EST on the 16th. Lowest hourly wind chill factors included 12 degrees below zero at the New Castle County Airport (New Castle County) and 7 degrees below zero in Dover (Kent County) and Georgetown (Sussex County). This second arctic outbreak cemented January as an unseasonably cold month. At the New Castle County Airport, the monthly mean temperature of 25.4 degrees was 6.1 degrees colder than normal. It was the 10th coldest January on record and the coldest January since 1984.

Cold/Wind Chill in DELAWARE BEACHES, DELAWARE
From 15-JAN-04 12:00:00 to 16-JAN-04 12:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill in INLAND SUSSEX, DELAWARE
From 15-JAN-04 12:00:00 to 16-JAN-04 12:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill in KENT, DELAWARE
From 15-JAN-04 12:00:00 to 16-JAN-04 12:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill in NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
From 15-JAN-04 12:00:00 to 16-JAN-04 12:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC