A winter storm brought freezing rain, sleet and snow to Delaware on the 3rd. Snowfall averaged 3 to 5 inches with up to around one-quarter of an inch of ice in the lower half of the state. The precipitation occurred as temperatures went from above freezing on the 2nd to well below freezing on the 3rd. This caused hazardous traveling conditions. Delaware State Police reported about 85 accidents, 9 that involved injuries as well as nearly 50 disabled vehicles, many of which skidded into ditches. Schools in Kent and Sussex Counties were closed on both the 3rd and 4th. There were still many side roadways with ice on them on the 4th. Some businesses were closed on the 3rd. Trash and recycling schedules were also affected.
Precipitation started as rain during the afternoon on the 2nd. As colder air moved into Delaware and precipitation intensity increased, the rain changed briefly to sleet and then to snow early on the 3rd in New Castle County. Farther to the south, the transition period of sleet and freezing rain lasted longer on the 3rd. Up to one quarter of an inch of ice accumulated in Sussex County. Precipitation changed over to all snow in Kent and Sussex Counties between 4 a.m. EST and 7 a.m. EST on the 3rd and fell heavy at times during the mid and late morning. The snow ended close to Noon EST on the 3rd in New Castle County and during the second half of the afternoon of the 3rd from north to south across the rest of Delaware.
Representative snowfall included 5.3 inches in Milton (Sussex County), 5.0 inches in Woodside (Kent County), 4.5 inches in Harrington (Kent County) and the New Castle County Airport, 4.0 inches in Newark (New Castle County) and Lewes (Sussex County),  3.8 inches in Dover (Kent County), 3.5 inches in Seaford (Sussex County), 3.3 inches in Delaware City (New Castle County) and 3.0 inches in Odessa (New Castle County).  Representative ice accumulations included 0.25 inches in Frankford and Milford (Sussex County) and 0.10 inches in Milton (Sussex County).
The winter storm was caused by a series of low pressure systems that formed on the cold front that passed through Delaware on the afternoon of the 2nd.  The low pressure systems formed in the Tennessee River Valley.  An arctic high pressure system located over the Northern Plains on the evening of the 2nd slowly moved to the southeast and prevented the surface low pressure systems from having much northern  movement. The fractionalized low pressure systems took until the morning of the 3rd to merge into one in western South Carolina. From there, the low pressure system moved east and exited the South Carolina coast during the early evening of the 3rd.

Winter Storm in DELAWARE BEACHES, DELAWARE
From 03-MAR-14 06:00:00 to 03-MAR-14 17:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in INLAND SUSSEX, DELAWARE
From 03-MAR-14 04:00:00 to 03-MAR-14 17:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in KENT, DELAWARE
From 03-MAR-14 03:00:00 to 03-MAR-14 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
From 03-MAR-14 01:00:00 to 03-MAR-14 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter