Nor’easter snow creates ‘beach ghost towns’ in coastal areas

Dolle's
Dolle’s on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, DE, during the Blizzard of 2022. (Photo WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Skiers on the boardwalk
There were no flip flops on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk during the Blizzard of 2022; only boots and skis. (Photo WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Boardwalk covered in snow.
My kind of beach weather, says WTOP’s Dave Dildine, on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, DE. (Photo WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Thrasher's
Thrasher’s French Fries, a popular summer destination on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk, is encased in ice and snow during the late January blizzard in 2022. (Photo WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Blizzard Rehobeth
A person loses their footing on snow covered North 1st Street near Baltimore Avenue after the late January 2022 blizzard. (Photo WTOP/Dave Dildine)
blizzard rehoboth beach
Rehoboth Beach is known as the “Nation’s Summer Capitol” but amid the towering drifts of snow following the Blizzard of 2022, the wind-swept streets and boardwalk were desolate. (Photo WTOP/Dave Dildine)
Rehoboth Beach snow covered 2022 blizzard
Following a late January blizzard, tall snow drifts atop sand dunes gave way to a wind-swept Atlantic Ocean in Rehoboth Beach, DE. (Photo WTOP/Dave Dildine)
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Dolle's
Skiers on the boardwalk
Boardwalk covered in snow.
Thrasher's
Blizzard Rehobeth
blizzard rehoboth beach
Rehoboth Beach snow covered 2022 blizzard

Though the Nor’easter was spare in and around the District, coastal areas in Delaware and Maryland experienced their biggest snowfall in years.

WTOP’s Dave Dildine was on the boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach Saturday afternoon and said, with banks of snow, roads closed and most businesses shut down — albeit many for the season — the area had transformed into a “ghost beach town.”

Listen to Dave Dildine’s report from snowy Rehoboth Beach.

By Saturday morning, almost a foot of snow had been dumped in the areas of Rehoboth and Dewey Beach in Delaware with high winds still creating white out conditions for drivers. Snow blew wildly through the mews and drifted heavily against the buildings and sand dunes, several feet deep in many places, Dildine said.

On Friday evening, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Delaware Governor John Carney had both declared a state of emergency for affected counties and mobilized their state’s National Guard in anticipation of the storm. Local mayors had also declared a state of emergency and driving warning to keep residents off the roadways and make room for snowplows and emergency vehicles.

By Saturday evening, after the snow had passed, both Delaware and Maryland ended their state of emergency, though some jurisdictions have continued their driving warnings.

Logan Giles, a student at Salisbury University on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, told WTOP’s Lauren Hamilton that he’d been monitoring local traffic cameras during the overnight snow dump and, by and large, most people were staying off the roads.

“Overnight and right to sunrise, no one was really on the road,” Giles said. “Which is great, because that allowed room for snow plows and crews.”

WTOP’s Dave Dildine and Lauren Hamilton contributed to this report.

Joshua Barlow

Joshua Barlow is a writer, composer, and producer who has worked for CGTN, Atlantic Public Media, and National Public Radio. He lives in Northeast Washington, D.C., where he pays attention to developments in his neighborhood, economic issues, and social justice.

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