Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 8 to 9, 1997

Name: Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 8 to 9, 1997
Start: 1997-02-08T07:00
End: 1997-02-09T01:00
Location: New Jersey

February 8 to 9, 1997 · 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.

Snow, heavy at time across most of Southern New Jersey, fell throughout the day on the 8th. For Southern New Jersey to date, this was the heaviest snow of the season with 6 inch accumulations common from Salem and Cumberland Counties northeast through Burlington and Monmouth Counties. Less snow fell farther northwest in New Jersey. Little if any snow fell in Warren and Sussex Counties, the usual snowiest places in the state. Snowfall accumulations were a little less right along the coast also as temperatures were above the freezing mark and rain mixed in at times. Snow started during the morning on the 8th and fell throughout the day. Snow fell heavy at times during the afternoon and early evening as two bands of heavier snow one from Salem County to Burlington County and a weaker one from northern Mercer County to Monmouth County moved through the area. All of the accumulating snow was over by just a little after midnight on the 9th. Since this snow fell on a Saturday, the number of accidents was reduced. Representative accumulations from around the area included 6.5 inches in Washington Township (Gloucester County), 6.0 inches in Vineland (Cumberland County), Matawan (Monmouth County), Medford (Burlington County) and Pittsgrove (Salem County), 5.8 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 5.1 inches in Mount Holly (Burlington County), 5.0 inches in Folsom (Atlantic County), Washington's Crossing (Mercer County) and Willingboro (Burlington County), 4.8 inches in Brick Township (Ocean County) and New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 4.0 inches in Trenton (Mercer County), Hammonton (Atlantic County) and Moorestown (Burlington County), 3.9 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport, 3.0 inches at Harvey Cedars (Ocean County) and Millville (Cumberland County), 2.5 inches at Cape May County Courthouse, 2.4 inches in Belle Mead (Somerset County), 2.3 inches in Chatham (Morris County), 2.0 inches in Lambertville (Hunterdon County) and Cape May and only a trace at Newton in Sussex County. The low pressure system responsible for the heavy snow initially formed in the western Gulf of Mexico on the 7th. By the morning of the 8th, there were three separate centers, over Georgia, western North Carolina and near Cape Hatteras. These combined into one by the afternoon of the 8th. The low though moved fairly quickly out to sea. By 7 a.m. EST on the 9th, it was already about 450 miles east of Atlantic City. While its storm track placed the band of heaviest snow across Delmarva and Southern New Jersey, its fast movement prevented heavier accumulations from occurring.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 winter weather, 8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Burlington

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to February 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Burlington forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Camden

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to 11:30 PM EST
Where: Camden forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cumberland

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Gloucester

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to 11:30 PM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Salem

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Atlantic

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to 11:30 PM EST
Where: Western Atlantic forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Atlantic

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to February 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Cape May

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Cape May

When: February 8, 7:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Ocean

When: February 8, 8:00 AM EST to February 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Western Ocean forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Ocean

When: February 8, 8:00 AM EST to February 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Mercer

When: February 8, 8:00 AM EST to 11:30 PM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Monmouth

When: February 8, 9:00 AM EST to February 9, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Western Monmouth forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Monmouth

When: February 8, 9:00 AM EST to February 9, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Hunterdon

When: February 8, 9:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Hunterdon forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Middlesex

When: February 8, 9:00 AM EST to February 9, 12:30 AM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Morris

When: February 8, 9:00 AM EST to February 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Somerset

When: February 8, 9:00 AM EST to February 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Somerset forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.564, -74.616 (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.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Jersey in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, February 1997

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5594701, 5594702, 5594703, 5594704, 5594705, 5594706, 5594709, 5594710, 5594718, 5594708, 5594712, 5594714, 5594707, 5594711, 5594713, 5594715, 5594716, 5594717.