Heavy Snow in New Jersey, February 16 to 17, 1996

Name: Heavy Snow in New Jersey, February 16 to 17, 1996
Start: 1996-02-16T06:00
End: 1996-02-17T02:00
Location: New Jersey

February 16 to 17, 1996 · NWS PHI · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 18

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.

A low pressure system lingered over North Carolina on the 15th and developed quickly once it reached Cape Hatteras during the early morning hours of the 16th. It then moved northeast over the Western Atlantic reaching the Gulf of Maine the morning of the 17th. Its storm track was far enough offshore to keep cold air in place and to locate its axis of heaviest snow over Delmar and New Jersey. One snow related death occurred in Ocean County as a 38-year-old male's vehicle skidded into the path of an oncoming car on Burnt Tavern Road in Brick Township. Snow began during the morning of the 16th and fell steadily through midnight before ending early on the 17th. Accumulations averaged 6 to 8 inches, but there was a swath of one foot snows along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor from Gloucester County northeast through Middlesex County. The least snow accumulated in Warren and Sussex Counties where 3 to 5 inches fell. This storm helped set several SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORDS within and around the state. New Brunswick (Seasonal Total to date 63.7 inches.), Trenton (58.9 inches), Philadelphia (55.9 inches), New Castle County Airport (53.8 inches) and Pomona (45.5 inches) all set new seasonal snowfall records. Individual accumulations included 15 inches in Swedesboro, 13 inches in Bordentown and Mount Laurel, 12 inches in Berlin, 11.5 inches in Woodbridge, 11 inches in Hammonton and Folsom, 10 inches in Mount Holly, 9 inches in New Brunswick, 8 inches in Ewing and Millville, 7 inches in Belle Mead, Budd Lake and Wertsville, 6.5 inches in Pomona/Atalntic City International Airport, 6 inches in Long Valley, Estelle Manor, Toms River and Howell, 5 inches in Newton and 3 inches in Belvidere. Unlike the previous snow storms this winter, this one's timing during the Friday of an upcoming three day weekend was not good. Other snow storms this winter either occurred on the weekend or were nasty enough by the morning commute to keep most people at home and schools closed. In the Philadelphia area travel was described as the worst of the year. There were 17 accidents alone in Dover Township (Ocean County), and 15 fender benders in Trenton. A seven vehicle accident closed the southbound truck lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike for more than two hours in Middlesex County. This led to a 10 mile back-up. There were a half dozen other accidents on the Turnpike, about a dozen accidents on Interstates 287 and 80 and several spinouts on the Garden State Parkway. Service was suspended on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Salem

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Gloucester

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Camden

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Camden forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cumberland

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Atlantic

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Western Atlantic forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Cape May

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Cape May

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Atlantic

When: February 16, 6:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northwestern Burlington

When: February 16, 7:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Northwestern Burlington forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Ocean

When: February 16, 7:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Western Ocean forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Ocean

When: February 16, 7:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Morris

When: February 16, 9:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hunterdon

When: February 16, 9:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Hunterdon forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Somerset

When: February 16, 9:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Somerset forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Middlesex

When: February 16, 9:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Monmouth

When: February 16, 9:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Western Monmouth forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Monmouth

When: February 16, 9:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mercer

When: February 16, 9:00 AM EST to February 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Jersey in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, February 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5551645, 5551646, 5551647, 5551648, 5551649, 5551650, 5551820, 5551821, 5551822, 5551823, 5551824, 5551825, 5551826, 5551827, 5551828, 5551829, 5551830, 5551831.