Cold in New Jersey, April 9 to 11, 1997

An unseasonably cold air mass from Canada moved across New Jersey from April 9th through the 11th. A cold front moved through the region during the night of the 8th and ushered in this unseasonably cold air mass. The high pressure system at the center of it reached the Great Lakes the morning of the 10th and the Middle Atlantic Coast the morning of the 11th. Southwest winds around this high then modified the air mass and returned temperatures closer to seasonal levels. Low temperatures those three mornings were below the freezing mark in most areas. Unseasonably warm weather for most of late February and March preceding this cold spell had plants blooming ahead of schedule and some of the vegetation susceptible to the cold was damaged. But, temperatures were not cold enough to severely damage the peach and apple orchards. A new record low of 26F was set the morning of the 11th at the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona. But for most places, the coldest morning was the 10th. The lowest temperatures included 23F at the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona (not a record) on the 10th and in Wertsville (Hunterdon County) on the 11th, 24F in Brick (Ocean County) on the 10th, 26F in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), Phillipsburg (Warren County) and Trenton (Mercer County) on the 10th, 27F in Somerville (Somerset County) on the 10th and Millville (Cumberland County) on the 11th, 28F in Somerdale (Camden County) on the 11th and Mount Holly (Burlington County) on the 10th, and 30F at the Marina in Atlantic City on the 10th.