1300 Hours, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010: The sun is shining as Sussex County begins to dig out from its second blizzard within in a week, but the public should not view the fairer weather as an invitation to hop in the car and travel on area roadways still covered with massive drifts.

The Sussex County Emergency Operations Center urges residents to remain off area roadways until further notice. County officials, in conjunction with Gov. Jack Markell’s office and state emergency planners, have agreed to keep a state of emergency and driving ban in place for now. Those individuals traveling unnecessarily are subject to fines. Stranded vehicles will be pushed aside and towed at the owners’ expense.

“We’ve said it repeatedly, and we’ll remind the public again: ‘please stay off the roads,’ ” EOC Director Joseph L. Thomas said. “This is not the time to be sightseeing as plows are attempting to clear roads and first responders are trying to reach your fellow citizens who have emergency needs. We can’t stress that enough.”

Since 5 p.m. Wednesday, as the blizzard raged on, the Sussex County EOC has received numerous reports of disabled and stranded motorists. At one point, the number of stranded motorists throughout the county reached nearly 40, and those were just the calls EOC officials knew of, Mr. Thomas said.

Teams comprising members of the Delaware National Guard, Delaware State Police and the Delaware Department of Transportation diverted their attention to rescuing stranded motorists. Those teams continue their work this afternoon.

Total snow accumulations from Wednesday’s storm ranged from 4 to 7 inches throughout the county, on top of the 1 to 2 feet of snow already on the ground from an earlier blizzard last weekend. Snow drifts waist and chest high, even towering 10 feet in some places, have made roads impassable.

While the sun is out today, moderate, gusty winds continue to whip the snow on the ground, forming new drifts and reducing visibilities.

Delmarva Power and the Delaware Electric Cooperative report fewer than 100 customer outages in the county, a dramatic difference compared with last weekend’s storm, when heavy, wet snow and strong winds knocked out power to nearly 50,000 customers. For some of those customers, power wasn’t restored until Tuesday night.

Two shelters remain open in the county for those residents who have lost power, or who have been stranded in their vehicles and rescued by Delaware National Guard troops roving the county. Those shelters are:

• Milford Middle School, 612 Lakeview Ave., Milford;
• Sussex Central High School, 26026 Patriots Way, Georgetown.

Residents in need of shelter should contact the Sussex County EOC storm hotline at (302) 856-7366 for instructions. All shelter facilities have back-up generators in place, and staff is available to assist the public. However, those relocating to shelters should bring necessary supplies with them, including clothing, sleeping bags and pillows, medications, drinks, and non-perishable foods.

For the latest list of road closures, visit the Delaware Department of Transportation Web site at www.deldot.gov. To view an up-to-date map of power outages, visit Delmarva Power’s Web site at www.delmarva.com and the Delaware Electric Cooperative’s Web site at www.delaware.coop.

For updates, stay tuned to local television and radio stations, and the Sussex County EOC Web site, at sussexcountyde.gov/services/storm.

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Media calls should be directed to EOC spokeswoman Debra Jones at (302) 855-7801 or Sussex County Chief of Public Information Chip Guy at pio@sussexcountyde.gov.