From December 16 through December 17, 1973, a storm that included rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain, gripped the Delmarva Peninsula. The same storm dumped one to two feet of snow across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
The storm caused tree limbs to snap and fall on power lines, pulling them down. According to a report in the Delmarva News on December 20, 1973, Harold White, who was then a manager for Diamond State Telephone, called the storm the worst emergency in terms of telephone line damage since the March storm of 1962. However, Ronald Lafreddo, then a meteorologist called the storm “usual” for the area.
“It was a good example of the type of winter storm which traditionally hits the state the hardest, a southern originated storm which moves up the Atlantic seaboard and intensifies off Cape Hatteras before slamming into Delmarva,” LaFreddo was quoted as saying.
Ice storms occur when temperatures are below 32 degrees with rain or drizzle. As the precipitation falls, it freezes on impact and covers everything with a glaze of ice. As the ice builds up on limbs, it becomes heavier, leading those limbs to eventually break.
During the 1973 storm, approximately 45 to 55 percent of the town experienced power outages with many residents without electric for several days. Some were without power for more than a week.
Others remembered being out of electric for 11 days while those in town were only out for a day or so. Many reported using wood stoves, fireplaces and small heaters to keep warm until the electric was restored. Ice was reported to be as thick as three inches in some areas.
This storm remained the worst ice storm to strike Delmarva until another occurred in February 1994.
