Heavy Snow in New Jersey, March 9, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in New Jersey, March 9, 2001
Start: 2001-03-09T05:00
End: 2001-03-09T10:00
Location: New Jersey

March 9, 2001 · NWS PHI · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A vigorous occluded front produced several hours of accumulating snow across northwest New Jersey during the morning of the 9th. m.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 vigorous occluded front produced several hours of accumulating snow across northwest New Jersey during the morning of the 9th. The snow began after midnight EST and ended between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. EST. The morning commute was more treacherous and longer than usual. Accumulations averaged between 2 and 4 inches. No serious accidents were reported. Specific accumulations included 4.5 inches in High Point (Sussex County), 4 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 3 inches in Rockaway Township and Butler (Morris County), 2.7 inches in Marcella (Morris County), 2.5 inches in Phillipsburg (Warren County) and 2 inches in Long Valley (Morris County).

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 Mar 9, 2:15 AM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 9, 2:15 AM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
215 AM EST FRI MAR 9 2001

DISC: SFC TEMPS ACROSS THE AREA ABV FREEZING WITH EXCP OF MT. POCONO
WITH A TEMP OF 28. THIS IS GOOD SIGN OVERALL WITH ROAD SFC ABLE TO
HANDLE THE LIGHT PCPN MOVING INTO ERN PA. ECHOES MOVING RIGHT ALONG AT
249/36KT WHICH IS CLOSE TO FD WINDS AT 9000 FT. PCPN BREAKING OUT
JUST N OF 300H JET OF 100+ NOSING INTO SE PA AND TURNING INTO NRN
NJ. STREAK SHOWS UP ON IR WITH LAST SAT PIX. ALL INGREDIETNS LINING
UP OVR MASON DIXON WITH WAA ACROSS NRN MD INTO DE AND STRONG UVV AND
INCREASING MEAN RH THRU 50H.

00Z 50H HEIGHT FALLS OF 12DM IN WVA WITH SFC LOW REFLECTION OVER NCNTRL
MD WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH AVN FCST. SFC OCCLUSION NW FROM THE LW
INTO ERN LAKES WITH SEMBLANCE OF WMFNT THRU SNJ. UVV NOTHING TO
SNEEZE AT OVER NJ BOTH ETA AND AVN 12-18Z. SOME EVAPORATIVE COOLING
MAY LOWER TEMPS IN HEAVIER PCPN BUT FEEL THAT AREA OF GREATEST SNOW
W/B WHERE WWAS HAS BEEN ISSUED. MAY MENTION A PROLONGED MIX PARTS
OF ERN PA NRN NJ INTO THIS AFTERNOON AND SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATION. STRONG
VORT MAX INTO WRN ZNS AT 12Z AND ROTATES INTO NRN NJ BY 18Z. ETA/AVN
ARE SIM WITH SNOW OUTPUT BY 12Z BUT AVN HEAVIER BY 18Z. UP TO 4
INCHES BUT PERHAPS A LITLE MORE IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

AREA OF HIGH REFLECTIVITY WHICH IS PROBABLY THE BRIGHT BAND ON
DOPPLERS UPSTREAM. WILL WATCH THIS AREA OVER NEXT COUPLE HOURS AND
SEE IMPACT ON SFC TEMPS. FREEZING LEVEL FCST FOR 12Z PHL IS 26 HND
FT AND 14 HND FT NRN NJ.

DRY SLOT PUNCHES INTO NRN CHES BAY UP THRU NCNTRAL NJ BY THEN INTO
SOME CAA WHICH WILL USHER MOIST BACK IN WITH SOME -SN AND FALLING
AFTERNOON TEMPS WITH FRESH WINDS NRN AREAS.

LOW LIFTS NE WITH WRAP AROUND MOIST EXTENDING BACK INTO NWRN NJ
SO WILL MENTION SNOW SHOWERS AND THERE MAY BE SOME ACCUMULATION BUT
WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL NEXT SHIFT.

THNX OKX FOR COOR.

PHI...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY LATE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY FOR
      CARBON AND MONROE COUNTIES IN PA (ZONES 54 AND 55) AND FOR
      SUSSEX COUNTY IN NJ (ZONE 1).
      SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK IS DEL AND
      LOWER DE BAY.

SEE YA

EBERWINE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Morris

When: March 9, 5:00 AM EST to 10:00 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, Sussex

When: March 9, 5:00 AM EST to 10:00 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: March 9, 5:00 AM EST to 10:00 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, March 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: 5235163, 5235164, 5235165.