Heavy Snow in New Jersey, February 22 to 23, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in New Jersey, February 22 to 23, 2001
Start: 2001-02-22T13:00
End: 2001-02-23T03:00
Location: New Jersey

February 22 to 23, 2001 · NWS PHI · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

A fast moving low pressure system brought heavy snow to New Jersey on the 22nd. It was the heaviest snowstorm of the season for the southeast part of the state.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 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: 20

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 fast moving low pressure system brought heavy snow to New Jersey on the 22nd. It was the heaviest snowstorm of the season for the southeast part of the state. Accumulations averaged between 4 and 8 inches with much uniformity throughout the state. Snow began falling during the first half of the afternoon. Cold weather the previous two days made it easy for the snow to accumulate. Roads became slippery quickly. Six major accidents occurred within the first hour that the snow started. The worst multi-vehicle accidents occurred in the southern part of the state and involved two fatalities. In a similar situation to what occurred on the 5th of this month, schools and businesses closed early and created an early rush hour. Thousands of accidents occurred. The New Jersey State Police reported 854 accidents and responded to 1,091 calls for assistance alone. There were eleven hit and run accidents investigated. Middlesex County reported 450 accidents, Salem County reported 226 accidents. People again abandoned their cars when they became stuck. New Jersey transit reported 60 minute delays in the northern part of the state, 90 minute delays in the southern part of the state. Taxi cabs were ordered off the roads in central New Jersey because of hazardous driving conditions. Cell phone lines were clogged. Average commutes took as much as eight times longer than normal. The heaviest snow fell during the latter half of the afternoon and the first half of the evening. It ended shortly after midnight that night. The southern half of the state had the most serious accidents of the day. The worst accident occurred in Gloucester County on the North-South Freeway (State Route 42) near the Clement's Bridge exit about 130 p.m. EST. Twenty vehicles were involved in separate accidents in about the same location. A 35-year-old man was killed after being thrown from his SUV and was struck by another vehicle. Dozens of people were also injured and hundreds of motorists were stranded. The thoroughfare was closed until 7 p.m. EST. Farther to the south in Salem County, on Interstate 295, a 30-year-old man was killed around mile marker 3.5 when he left his truck to check on the driver of another vehicle that crashed into the rear of his rig. As he was talking to the other driver, he was struck and pinned by another vehicle that skidded out of control. One mile south of this fatal accident, a 14 vehicle chain reaction crashed occur. Farther to the north in Mount Laurel (Burlington County), another multi-vehicle accident caused two dozen injuries (one serious) and caused two hour delays on Interstate 295. In Atlantic City proper, 40 minor accidents occurred. In Ocean County, townships reported dozens of accidents during the first hour of snowfall. There were 50 accidents on the Garden State Parkway. People abandoned their vehicles because of the extensive delays. In Mercer County, U.S. Route 1 was closed in Lawrence Township. Elsewhere in the township, up to 20 vehicles slid into ditches. Slew of accidents was the adjective used by practically every township police department in the county.The northern half of the state had its problems also, witnessed by the 450 reported accidents in Middlesex County. In New Brunswick, New Jersey State Route 18 was gridlocked because the plows could not get through. Five ramps into the city were closed because the plows were stuck in traffic. In Somerset and Middlesex Counties, Interstate 287 was closed briefly. Persons abandoned their vehicles. U.S. Route 202 in Somerset County was bumper to bumper its entire length. In Sussex County, County Route 517 was closed in Sparta because of an accident. Evening meetings were cancelled. Specific accumulations included in Atlantic County: 8 inches in Pomona, 7.4 inches in Estell Manor, 6 inches in Absecon and 5.5 inches in Margate, in Burlington County: 6.8 inches in Wrightstown, 6.7 inches in Marlton, 6 inches in Tabernacle and 5.5 inches in Maple Shade, in Camden County: 7 inches in Mount Ephraim and Cherry Hill, 6.5 inches in Voorhees and 5 inches in Camden, in Cape May County: 7.9 inches in Cape May City, 7 inches in Dennis Township, 6 inches in North Wildwood and 5 inches in Ocean City, in Cumberland County: 6.3 inches in Millville and 5 inches in Seabrook, in Gloucester County: 7.3 inches in Williamstown, 6.9 inches in Glassboro and 5.5 inches in Verga; in Hunterdon County: 8.5 inches in Alexandria, 7.3 inches in Tewksbury, 7.2 inches in Wertsville, 7 inches in White House Station and 6 inches in Lambertville, in Mercer County: 6.5 inches in Hamilton Square, 6.4 inches in Princeton and 5.3 inches in Hightstown, in Middlesex County: 6.2 inches in New Brunswick and 5.5 inches in Metuchen, in Monmouth County: 7 inches in Manasquan, 6 inches in Howell and 4.5 inches in Freehold, in Morris County: 7.1 inches in Chatham, 6.6 inches in Marcella, 6.5 inches in Morristown and 6 inches in Rockaway, in Ocean County: 7 inches in South Toms River and Manahawkin, 6.5 inches in Brick and Plumstead and 6 inches in Harvey Cedars, in Somerset County: 7 inches in Hillsborough and Neshanic, 6.8 inches in Somerville and Bridgewater and 6 inches in Pottersville, in Sussex County: 6.5 inches in Wantage, 5.5 inches in Green Township and 5 inches in Lafayette, in Warren County: 8 inches in Washington, 7.8 inches in Belvidere and 7.5 inches in Stewartsville and Hackettstown.The low pressure system responsible for the heavy snow developed along the Red River Valley in the Southern Plains on Wednesday the 21st. By Thursday morning the 22nd, it was located over northern Alabama. It moved quickly offshore and by the morning of the 23rd, it was more than 300 miles east of the Delmarva Peninsula. The quick movement of the low pressure system prevented heavier snow from occurring. But it was compensated by a higher than normal snowfall to water equivalent ratio. In the so-called average snowstorm the ratio of snowfall to water equivalent is usually 10 to 1. For example, 10 inches of snow would melt down to about one inch of water (or rain). In this storm, partially because the air mass over the region was considerably colder than normal, the snowfall to water equivalent ratio was closer to 20 to 1.

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 22, 10:35 AM EST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 10:35 AM EST, 2 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1035 AM EST THU FEB 22 2001

WL UPDATE ZONES TO FRESHEN AND MAKE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS...SPCLY
TO TEMPS WHERE THE RANGE WL BE LOWERED A BIT...BUT LARGE SCALE WRNGS
AND ADVYS LEFT INTACT UNTIL THIS DEVELOPING WASHINGTON/S BIRTHDAY
STORM CAN BE CORRELATED WITH 12Z RUN...SOME OF WHICH WE HAVE SEEN.
NGM AND ETA ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT ON SFC LO TRACK...AND THIS
CAUSES US TO WONDER IF SNOW AMTS WCNTRL AND NRN ZONES NEED TO BE
LOWERED SOMEWHAT....AND PERHAPS EVEN MERCER-MONMOUTH-MIDDLESEX NJ.
EVEN ETA QPF SEEMS TO BE LOWER NOW...ABOUT 0.30 LIQUID HOWVER AS
NOTED FROM PREVIOUS THE RAIN/LIQ EQUIV RATIO SHUD BE FAIRLY HI AND
THIS NEEDS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT...AS WAS DONE YDA AS WELL.
HOWEVER WE WILL ASSUME THIS BIAS TWD LWER AMTS NWRN ZONES FOR FUTURE
UPDATES. ALSO...WONDER IF THE STORM WL FINISH SOONER...SPCLY SWRN
ZONES...IN VIEW OF STLT TRENDS. UPDATED WSW WL BE ISSUED ALONG WITH
UPDATED ZONES. NO CHG ON MARINE...SCA KEPT AS WINDS WL BE INCRSG
SOON.

REST AS FROM PREVIOUS...

*********************************************************************

WILL BE ISSUING WINT STORM WRNG FOR PREV WATCH AREA...BUT WILL ADD
A FEW ADTNL CNTRL NJ CTYS OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE DVLPG WRAPARND.
WINT WX ADVSRYS WILL THEN BE ISSUED FOR THE REMAINDER OF OUR CWA.

GENERAL GIST OF THIS FCST WILL BE TO CONT WITH THE AVN MDL WITH THIS
PKG. ETA/S WOES HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED AND ITS ALRDY (TU HPC) BEEN TOO
WET WITH THIS SYS TO OUR SW. LATEST 06Z MESOETA IS EVER SO SLGTLY
DRIER. THE AVN WHICH WAS NRLY AS WET AS THE ETA ON THE DAY RUN HAS
BCM DRIER ON ITS SUCCESSIVE 18Z AND 00Z RUNS. IT IS ALSO TRENDING A
BIT MORE TO THE SE (WHICH WOULD MAKE SENSE IN THIS ZONAL FLOW). CAN
MDLS ALSO LEAN TWD THE AVN WITH EVEN THE GEM PIVOTING THE HVYST PCPN
FROM S OF THE MASON-DIXON LINE TO THE NJ CST. CONVECTION ACRS TN VLY
IS PRETTY MUCH RACING EWD. CONCERNED THIS MIGHT CUT OFF A BIT WAA
INFLOW FTHR TO THE N WITH FIRST SHOT.

GENERAL UPSHOT THO SYS IS TOO PROGRESSIVE TO BRING VERY HVY SNOW
AND FCSTD MESOSCALE FEATS (PTNL CSI OR EVEN INSTABILITY ITSELF)
ON THE ETA JUST HUG THE JERSEY SHORE. GIVEN ITS WWD BIAS WITH SFC
SYS THIS SHOULD THEN OCR OVR THE ATLC. EVEN THE ETA SEEMS TO BE
KEYING ON OUR DELMARVA FOR THE GREATEST PTNL FOR HVYST PCPN. THAT/S
WHERE ITS W-E ZONE OF STGST WAA/THETA E ADVT OCRS.

AIR MASS CUR OVR THE RGN IS EXTREMELY DRY. SOME OF THE INIT SNOW
BLAST IS GOING TO BE EVAPD INTO THIS DRY AIR. ON THE OTHER HAND...
THE SNOW/LIQUID EQIV RATIO OUGHT TO BE PRETTY HIGH FOR THIS EVENT
ESP N AND W OF PHL. ONE OF THE REASONS FOR NOT MUCH OF A DIF IN
ACCUM FCST FROM OUR CNTRL TO NW ZONES. THE ONLY ZONES WE/LL CONT THE
MNTN OF LIQUID PCPN WILL BE DEZ3/4 AND WILL KNOCK DOWN THE ACCUMS A
TAD THERE. H850 TEMPS AND 1000-850MB THICK GET MARGINAL FROM A
EASTON-DOV-ACY LINE. WOULD EXPECVT EITHER THE INIT EVAP COOLG AND/OR
THE HVY PCPN RATE (STG OMEGAS) TO NEGATE THE PSBLTY OF A MIX IN MOST
PLACES DOWN THERE. ALSO FCST SOUDGS DO NOT SUPPORT SLEET.

LIKE THE JAN 20-21 STORM WOULD EXPECT THIS EVENT TO BRING A COUPLE
OF HOURS OF SHEAR FRIGHT (OR DELIGHT) AS HVY SNOW MOVES QUICKLY THRU
THE RGN. UNFORTUNATELY THIS LOOKS LIKE IT MAY COINCIDE WITH THE EVE
RUSH HOME. GIVEN COLD START TO TDY...THE SNOW SHLD STICK QUITE
EASILY ONCE IT STARTS FALLING. WE/RE NOT GOING TO MOVE UP THE TIMING
BASED ON EVAP PBLMS ALG THE FRONT END...NEVERTHELESS KEYING ON A 6
HR PERIOD FOR MOST OF THE SNOW TO OCR MAINLY AFTN/ERLY ERLY EVE
DELMAR...LT AFTN/ERLY EVE PHL METRO AREA AND ERN PA AND LT AFTN INTO
THE EVE NRN NJ. AFT ABT 01-02Z WHL FLURRIES ARE FCST TO
LINGER...MOST OF THE MSTR IS BLO 700MB.

ETA SUGG MSTR GETS TRAPPED UNDER THE INVERSION IN NW ZONES ON FRI.
ATTM W/O A TRUE SFC HI WE/LL BITE INTO IT. WE/LL MAKE IT
PROGRESSIVELY SUNNIER FTHR TO THE S AND E. THEN FAIR WX FOR FRI NGT
AS HI PRES BUILDS IN. COULD BE PRETTY COLD GIVEN THE FRESH SNOW
PACK. LATEST AVN A BIT SLOR WITH NEXT EVENT. REMOVED MNTN OF PCPN
FOR SAT...BUT ON THE OTHER HAND ADDED THE MNTN OF SOME FZRA IN NWRN
CWA ON SUN BASED ON LATEST THICKNESSES/SFC TEMP FCSTS.

IN GENERAL WE LIKE THE COLDER NGM MOS FOR TDY GIVEN CLDS ARE ALRDY
INCRG TO OUR W. WOULD EXPECT TEMPS AND DEWPTS TO MERGE NOT THE
LATTER RISING TO THE FRMR LIKE THE AVN MAV HAS. WILL TAKE ABT A CAT
OFF FOR THE SNOWPACK ON FRI AND EVEN MORE FRI NGT WITH IDEAL RDTNL
CONDS EXPECTED.

MAR: WE/LL KEEP SCA GOING AS THEY/LL PBLY BE JUST A BRIEF LULL BTWN
SYS.

TU COR COORD EVERONE...HAVE A GOOD NIGHT/DAY.

.PHI...WINTER STORM WARNING PAZ070-071-NJZ012-013>026-DEZALL-
       MDZ008-012-015-019-020 FOR THIS AFTN AND NGT.
       WINTER WX ADVY FOR THIS AFTN AND NGT NJZ001-007>010
       PAZ054-055-060>062/067>069.
       SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK
       ISLAND DE AND FOR DELAWARE BAY.

TFG /

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Burlington

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to February 23, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Camden

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to February 23, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Camden forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cumberland

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Atlantic

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to February 23, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Cape May

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Gloucester

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to February 23, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Salem

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to February 23, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Atlantic

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to February 23, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Western Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Cape May

When: February 22, 1:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Ocean

When: February 22, 1:30 PM EST to February 23, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mercer

When: February 22, 1:30 PM EST to February 23, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Ocean

When: February 22, 1:30 PM EST to February 23, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Western Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Monmouth

When: February 22, 2:00 PM EST to February 23, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hunterdon

When: February 22, 2:00 PM EST to February 23, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Hunterdon forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Monmouth

When: February 22, 2:00 PM EST to February 23, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Western Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Middlesex

When: February 22, 2:30 PM EST to February 23, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Morris

When: February 22, 2:30 PM EST to February 23, 2:30 AM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Somerset

When: February 22, 2:30 PM EST to February 23, 2:30 AM EST
Where: Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sussex

When: February 22, 3:00 PM EST to February 23, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Warren

When: February 22, 3:00 PM EST to February 23, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.857, -74.997 (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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5232170, 5232171, 5232172, 5232173, 5232174, 5232177, 5232182, 5232186, 5232187, 5232176, 5232179, 5232189, 5232175, 5232178, 5232188, 5232180, 5232181, 5232183, 5232184, 5232185.