Ice Storm, Sussex
- When
- February 16, 11:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm in New Jersey, February 16, 2001
A cold front moved through northern New Jersey on the 15th and stalled over the southern Middle Atlantic States. High pressure brought in some colder and drier air near the surface the night of the 15th and the morning of the 16th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 cold front moved through northern New Jersey on the 15th and stalled over the southern Middle Atlantic States. High pressure brought in some colder and drier air near the surface the night of the 15th and the morning of the 16th. A weak low pressure system developed on the front during the morning of the 16th over the Tennessee Valley. While it was warm enough aloft for precipitation to fall as rain, air temperatures remained below freezing over some of the higher terrain locations in Sussex County, particularly in the northwest part of the county. The low pressure system was too weak to bring in warmer air from the nearby Atlantic Ocean. Freezing rain and rain fell across Sussex County during the day and evening of the 16th. Ice accretions reached around one-quarter of an inch in some of the higher terrain locations in the county. Untreated roadways were treacherous.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 16, 3:35 AM EST, 7 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 3:35 AM EST, 7 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 335 AM EST FRI FEB 16 2001 DISC: MODELS SHOW PCPN SPREADING N SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN EARLIER RUNS. NEW FCST PKG WILL REFLECT THIS. TEMPS WILL BE VRY SLOW TO RISE TODAY. CURRENT READINGS BLO FREEZING MUCH OF CARBON... MONROE...AND SUSSEX COUNTIES...ALSO NRN PTNS OF LEHIGH... NORTHAMPTON...WARREN...AND MORRIS COUNTIES. SINCE PCPN NOT EXPECTED TO ARRIVE THESE AREAS UNTIL LATE THIS MORNING...TEMPS FOR THE MOST PART WILL RISE ABOVE FREEZING BEFORE THE ONSET. THE PROBLEM AREAS...AS ALWAYS...WILL BE THE COLDEST MOUNTAIN VALLEYS IN OUR NORTHERN 3 ZONES. ADVISORIES MAY WELL BE NEEDED IF THE PCPN SPREADS INTO THESE AREAS TOO QUICKLY. FOR NOW... WILL HANDLE WITH A STATEMENT. NEW RUNS ALSO CUT DOWN ON PCPN AMTS...SO WILL TAKE OUT MENTION OF HVY RN. COLD AIR COMES IN TNGT AS SYSTEM PULL OFF THE COAST. MOST SECTIONS WILL CHANGE TO SN BFR ENDING. WILL NOT MENTION SNOW ACfCUM ATTM BUT NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION TO GET SMALL AMTS...ESP NRN SECTIONS. MARINE: WILL CONT HEADLINE FOR PSBLTY OF SCA LATE TNGT AND SAT. .PHI...NONE. RPW
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, February 16, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, February 16, 2001
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Alabama, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Tornado in Georgia, February 16, 2001
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, February 2001
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: 5232035.