Delaware will get more rain and potentially miss the snow, again.

The forecast for Dec. 5 from the National Weather Service has changed with the First State mostly getting a wintery mix at worse.

Here’s a look at the latest Dec. 5 forecast.

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Will it snow in Delaware?

It depends where you live, but for the most part, the First State will be spared from snow.

New Castle County forecast: There’s a 30% chance of snow before 11 a.m. with highs reaching 31 degrees. There’s a 20% change of snow overnight into Dec. 6 as temperatures drop into the mid-20s. There will be little to no snow accumulation.

Kent County: There’s a chance of snow before 2 p.m. with the precipitation changing over to rain as highs reach 35 degrees. There’s a 60% chance of precipitation. If you’re heading out Friday night, you’ll want to be very careful. There’s a chance of snow before 10 p.m., changing over to a rain-snow mix from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and then rain after 1 a.m. There’s a 30% chance of overnight precipitation. Lows will be in the upper 20s. There could be up to half-and-inch of snow.

Sussex County: There’s a chance of snow before 10 a.m. turning to rain and snow with highs around 37 degrees. Less than a half-an-inch of snow is expected to fall. In the overnight from Dec. 5 to Dec. 6, there is a 50% chance of rain before 1 a.m.

How cold will it get in Delaware after the snow?

While the weekend is looking sunny with typical temperatures for winter, with highs in the 40s and lows in the mid to upper 20s, First State residents will get a bit of a chill on Dec. 8.

Highs on Dec. 8 are only expected to hit 31 degrees and the overnight temperatures will drop into the teens in New Castle County to the low 20s in Sussex County.

What should be in your emergency kit for winter driving?

Whether it’s a bag or box in the back or trunk of your car, you should have a kit while driving in the winter. According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which is incredibly familiar with heavy snow, your kit should include:

• Blankets or sleeping bags
• Extra stocking caps, warm socks, gloves/mittens
• Flashlight with extra batteries
• First-aid kit
• Booster cables and windshield brush/scraper
• Drinking water and high-calorie, non-perishable food (trail mix, energy/protein bars)
• Sand or cat litter to sprinkle around your tires for traction in case you get stuck
• Cellphone adapter/charger

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Delaware dropped last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 472 in the week ending November 29, down from 672 the week before, the Labor Department said.

U.S. unemployment claims dropped to 191,000 last week, down 27,000 claims from 218,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Nebraska saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 98.5%. Virgin Islands, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 58.3%.

USA TODAY Co. is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance claims report.

Why Should Delaware Care?
The Division of Small Business distributes millions in grants and incentives each year to assist small businesses and organizations. But in September, a business owned by a senior agency official received funding from the agency, raising questions about oversight and conflicts of interest.

Officials at the Delaware Division of Small Business recently rescinded a $7,500 sponsorship contract awarded to a Wilmington bar after learning that an owner of the business was the state agency’s own deputy director. 

Beyond returning the money, agency spokesman Rony Baltazar-Lopez told Spotlight Delaware that officials had also imposed “corrective actions,” in response to the apparent conflict of interest. 

Those included “employee education, discipline, and internal policy revisions,” Baltazar-Lopez said in an email. 

The situation began in late September when the Division of Small Business received an email from Rachel Lindeman, co-owner of the popular Nomad Bar on Orange Street in Wilmington, asking the state to sponsor her networking series for small business owners

The request didn’t appear to raise any alarm, as Division of Small Business Director C.J. Bell responded three hours later stating that his office would award the Nomad a $7,500 sponsorship, according to emails obtained by Spotlight Delaware through an open records request.

Baltazar-Lopez said the sponsorship was the kind of project the office routinely supported. 

What was different though was that the money went to a business co-owned by Jaimie Watts, deputy director of the Division of Small Business.

But the sponsorship was short-lived after officials learned of Watts dual roles.

Within weeks of Lindeman’s email, state officials quietly opened an internal investigation, rescinded the money, and determined that the sponsorship posed a conflict of interest inside the agency responsible for overseeing millions of dollars in business grants and incentives each year. 

“We recently learned that a sponsorship was issued to a business that was not eligible to receive DSB funding due to its relationship with a state employee,” Baltazar said in his statement.

Spotlight Delaware further asked whether the office has ever rescinded a sponsorship; how long a typical sponsorship decision takes; and what controls exist to ensure contracts do not go to businesses owned by agency staff. The Division of Small Business declined to comment further. 

Watts became deputy director of the Delaware Division of Small Business in April. A month later, she purchased the Nomad Bar with Lindeman. 

Watts also is a member of Spotlight Delaware’s governing board of directors. Read our editorial independence policy here.  

In an email sent to state officials in October, Lindeman said she had been “informed” that the sponsorship money had to be returned. By early November, an agency official confirmed in an email to a colleague that it had been.

Watts did not answer questions for this story, instead referring Spotlight Delaware to a Division of Small Business spokeswoman.

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