A potent low pressure system in the Ohio Valley during the early morning hours of May 11th moved eastward and gradually weakened. A secondary low formed over northeastern North Carolina during the late afternoon on the 11th and eventually absorbed the other low pressure system, becoming the dominant storm. This storm gradually moved east northeastward late on the 11th into the 12th. Early on the morning of the 12th, the storm was centered over the southern Delmarva. As this storm strengthened fairly rapidly, a strong northeasterly wind developed and persisted through the evening of the 12th. The prolonged northeast flow combined with higher than normal tides, caused widespread minor to moderate tidal flooding along the coast of Delaware. Heavy rain also impacted the state, especially central and southern sections. By the evening of the 12th, the coastal storm tracked eastward and gradually moved away from the region.
It was reported that downtown Delaware City (New Castle County) flooded at high tide, which took place from 5:30 AM to 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Locations that were impacted by flooding included the first blocks of Clinton and Washington streets, as well as around the entrance to the trailer park. The high tide also caused damage to the Delaware City Park off of Clinton Street as the waves tore up some of the brick sidewalk along the sea wall. At 6:10 AM EDT on the 12th, crews responded to a report of an automobile stranded in high water on Old State Road in Middletown (New Castle County). Another call came in at 9:10 AM EDT with a report of another vehicle stranded at the same location. In Christiana Hundred (New Castle County), a large tree fell into a home in the 300 Block at around 11:00 AM EDT on the 12th. There was considerable damage to the second floor of the home.
At Slaughter Beach (Sussex County), heavy wind pushed water over the area���s sand dunes and onto roadways, which blocked off Route 36 and Slaughter Beach Road. Fire trucks and rescue personnel ran a ferry service across the waters to bring Slaughter Beach residents who needed to go home, and those who wanted to leave. The water rose as high as four and a half feet at some points, and by the end of the morning of the 13th, the Army National Guard had to deploy full-sized transports to navigate the roads, and for evacuation only. While the town itself suffered only light damage, major roads were not usable again until the afternoon of the 13th. Perhaps the hardest hit by the storm were the residents of Milford Neck at the end of Lighthouse Road at Slaughter Beach. The ���That���s Right Fresh Seaford��� processing facility suffered heavy damage when wind blew water into the steel building at a height of four feet. In addition, the home at the point, many not raised to avoid flood waters, suffered damage. A car was swamped by rising water from Canary Creek on New Road in Lewes (Sussex County) on the 12th. The road was closed when high tides caused the banks to overflow. Several roads in and around Bethany Beach (Sussex County) were still flooded on the 13th, a day after the storm. Peters Field Ditch, which runs behind Broadkill Beach (Sussex County) from the Broadkill River, overflowed its banks during the Nor���easter on the 12th, which created an inland bay behind the Delaware Bay community. Water from Delaware Bay, on the 12th, spilled into the marsh near Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge (Sussex County) between Broadkill Beach and Slaughter Beach when a breach occurred from strong winds and higher tides.
Lighthouse Road, which is just north of Slaughter Beach (Sussex County), was completely flooded. In Prime Hook Beach, flooding started around 5:00 AM EDT on the 12th, and roads, including the one to the nature center were closed about 7:00 AM EDT. Cedar Beach Road was also closed back to Clark's Board Storage, and the other avenue into the bayfront community. Trees were knocked down in Rehoboth Beach (Sussex County) on the 12th as high winds and soggy ground proved to be too much. Major erosion along the dune was noted at the north end of the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach. Although a new dune held in Bethany Beach (Sussex County), large waves created from the Nor���easter on the 12th eroded a section, which created a large drop-off. Erosion was also noted at many other beaches, such as Dewey Beach (Sussex County).
Road closures and flooding were reported from coastal Sussex inland to the Oak Orchard area. In Dewey Beach (Sussex County), a stretch of Route 1, including the Indian River Inlet Bridge, was closed due to flooding. Portions of Cupola Park, in Millsboro (Sussex County), were flooded as storm water from Millsboro Pond ran over. Strong winds completely toppled over a Food Lion sign on Route 16 in Georgetown (Sussex County), and Wilmington University and Del Tech were forced to reschedule graduation ceremonies when the graduation tent collapsed because of strong winds. Cape Henlopen (Sussex County) students were sent home by 1:00 PM EDT on the 12th because of the affects of the storm. At 1:00 PM EDT on the 12th, The Delaware Department of Transportation closed three Sussex County roads because of high water. These included Route 209 and 224 in the Slaughter Beach area and Route 312 in the Oak Orchard area. High tide flooding resulted in the closing of Route 1 along the coast between Dewey Beach and Fred Hudson Road. State Police had numerous reports of downed wires, trees and tree limbs in roadways, and flooding on some streets and highways. Storm-driven tides flooded Savannah Road on Lewes Beach on the 12th and surrounded the Howard Seymour Water Reclamation Plant (Sussex County).
In South Bowers (Kent County), the dunes that were between the surf���s edge and the elevated homes were essentially wiped away. Several boats appeared to have been missing as a result of the wind and storm surge. The homes on Route 36 before the bridge were those that were primarily affected by the flooding. West Milford (Kent County) was covered with between one and two feet of water during the storm that roared through the region on the morning of the 12th. Several downtown structures suffered minor water damage, including the Department of Health and Social Service building on Southeast Front Street, which was closed until the 16th. In Milford (Kent County), police evacuated employees from two state service centers, one on Church Street and the other on Walnut Street, as the Mispillion River overflowed its banks starting the night of the 11th. Bicentennial Park was under water, as were portions of Washington Street, Park Avenue and North East Front Street. The flooding persisted until early on the 13th.
Some 150 residents of Kent County along the Delaware Bay were evacuated from their homes early on the 12th as high winds and heavy rains from a Nor'easter caused severe coastal flooding. Some took shelter at the Little Creek Fire Hall. The coastal regions of Kitts Hummock and Pickering Beach received the brunt of the high water, with reports of flooding nearing 6 feet. About 175 people were evacuated from Kitts Hummock and about 50 from Pickering Beach. Initially rescuers plucked people from homes in Pickering Beach and Kitts Hummock using nine boats, but then as the tide receded and water levels became shallower, National Guard trucks went from home to home. The water in some homes was nearly knee deep. At Pickering Beach, east of Dover Air Force Base, National Guard trucks ferried about 50 residents to safety early on the 12th after the churning surf washed over the dune line and swirled around the pilings of the small cottages. Some vehicles were buried in the sand and water. The Bowers Fire Department reported that about 30 evacuees stayed temporarily at the fire station during the morning of the 12th, and about 40 others had sought refuge elsewhere. The flooding began around 2:30 AM EDT on the 12th. A Pickering Beach resident reported that the waves during the morning of the 12th, crashed over the two family cars.
Downed trees and flooding occurred in the Smyrna area (Kent County) on the 12th. On Hillyard Road, a large tree fell onto a home around 2:30 AM EDT, which damaged the homes roof. The Delaware Army National Guard assisted with a voluntary evacuation of Woodland Beach (Kent County) on the 12th, after the only road to the community was impassable after sections of the road were lifted up and washed away. At South Bowers Fire Company (Kent County), firefighters evacuated people from Big Stone and South Bowers beaches at about 3:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Water flooded about a mile and a half inland. In South Bowers (Kent County), fishing boats were washed up into the marshes and tidal flooding of the Mispillion River, which runs through Milford (Kent County), caused officials to cut electricity to the area. There were also vehicles stranded in the water in Milford. The American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula and Kent County Emergency Management opened a shelter at the Little Creek Fire Department on Main Street in Little Creek (Kent County) at 4:00 AM EDT on the 12th. About 15 people were at the shelter. After a mandatory evacuation of Kitts Hummock and Pickering Beach (Kent County), the numbers at the shelter rose to 25 or 30. A large tree was blown over in Dover (Kent County) at the corner of Governors Avenue and Governors Boulevard. There were also reports of other fallen trees along with downed power lines throughout Dover.
Delaware Electric Cooperative reported that they had some 10,500 outages by 9:00 AM EDT on the 12th, as two substations were lost. Problem areas included Long Neck, Selbyville and Frankford (Sussex County). Crews found that because the rain drenched the ground, which combined with high winds, downed poles and even snapped some cross-arms. About 23,500 Delmarva Power customers were without power on the 12th as high winds downed trees and power lines, most of which were in Sussex County. The peak of the outages was about 23,000, which included about 675 Delmarva Power customers in Kent County. Power outages, as a result of the storm, forced the courts in Georgetown (Sussex County) to close on the 12th, as well as schools across Sussex County. Electric customers east of U.S. 113 (Sussex County) were hit the hardest by the outages, but power was largely restored by the early afternoon hours of the 12th.
Multiple schools across the state let students out early on the 12th and excused students in overly flooded areas from attending classes. Officials shut down service of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry on the 12th because of the strong winds and higher tides. The Nor���easter on May 12th added insult to injury as 2 to 4 inches of rain that fell up until then in parts of Delaware impacted crops. A couple of corn crops that were newly planted were completely flooded, which could mean they may likely not produce. The coastal storm produced tidal flooding, which caused the most damage, as the salty water can be lethal to crops, according to experts. An estimated 1,000 acres of farmland may have been affected by the tidal flooding from this storm.
Tidal flooding from Delaware Bay impacted the state during the night of the 11th and through at least midday on the 12th. Tidal flooding of minor to moderate occurred along coastal areas. The tidal gage at Reedy Point peaked at 8.3 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Moderate flooding begins at 8.2 feet mean lower low water. In addition, the Delaware City tidal gage peaked at 9.1 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. This was reported to be a new record since the gage was installed in 2001. The tidal gage at Lewes peaked at 7.9 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Moderate flooding begins at 7.7 feet mean lower low water. The tidal gage at Bowers Beach peaked at 9.78 feet mean lower low water at 4:00 AM EDT on the 12th (flood state is 7.0 feet), and this was reported to be an all-time record height.
Some peak wind gusts included: 68 mph at Lewes; 67 mph at Brandywine Light and Brandywine Harbor; 60 mph at Dover Air Force Base; 51 mph at the Georgetown Airport; 48 mph at the New Castle County Airport in Wilmington; and 46 mph in Sandtown. Some rainfall totals included: 4.07 inches in Redden; 3.21 inches in Millsboro; 2.37 inches in Greenwood; 2.36 inches in Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge; 1.98 inches in Bethany Beach; and 1.82 inches in Dover.

Coastal Flood in INLAND SUSSEX, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 04:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 07:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: C-MAN Station

Tidal flooding of minor to moderate occurred along coastal Delaware. The tidal gage at Lewes peaked at 7.9 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Moderate flooding begins at 7.7 feet mean lower low water.

Coastal Flood in DELAWARE BEACHES, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 03:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: C-MAN Station

Tidal flooding of minor to moderate occurred along coastal Delaware. The tidal gage at Lewes peaked at 7.9 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Moderate flooding begins at 7.7 feet mean lower low water.

Strong Wind in NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 07:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Magnitude: 42.00 MG
Property damage: 10.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

A peak wind gust to 48 mph was recorded at the New Castle County Airport in Wilmington around 9:45 AM EDT on the 12th.

Coastal Flood in NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 04:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 07:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: C-MAN Station

Tidal flooding of minor to moderate occurred along coastal Delaware. The tidal gage at Reedy Point peaked at 8.3 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Moderate flooding begins at 8.2 feet mean lower low water. In addition, the Delaware City tidal gage peaked at 9.1 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. This was reported to be a new record since the gage was installed in 2001.

Coastal Flood in KENT, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 04:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 07:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: C-MAN Station

Tidal flooding of minor to moderate occurred along coastal Delaware. The tidal gage at Lewes peaked at 7.9 feet mean lower low water at 6:00 AM EDT on the 12th. Moderate flooding begins at 7.7 feet mean lower low water.

High Wind in KENT, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 03:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 07:00:00 (EST-5)
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

High Wind in DELAWARE BEACHES, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 07:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

High Wind in INLAND SUSSEX, DELAWARE
From 12-MAY-08 07:00:00 to 12-MAY-08 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Magnitude: 59.00 MG
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: C-MAN Station

A peak wind gust of 68 mph was measured at the Lewes, Delaware coastal station.