New Jersey, 2002

High Wind in New Jersey, February 4, 2002

February 4, 2002 · NWS PHI · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A cold front ushered in colder air into New Jersey during the mid-afternoon on the 4th. The same front that brought snow showers to the northwest part of the state, brought strong gusty winds through the evening of the 4th, especially in the southeast part of the state.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
7

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 ushered in colder air into New Jersey during the mid-afternoon on the 4th. The same front that brought snow showers to the northwest part of the state, brought strong gusty winds through the evening of the 4th, especially in the southeast part of the state. Peak wind gusts averaged between 45 and 55 mph in the southeast part and mainly less than 40 mph elsewhere in the state. Peak wind gusts included 55 mph in Atlantic City (Atlantic County), 54 mph at the Cape May Harbor (Cape May County), 46 mph in Barnegat (Ocean County) and the Cape May Ferry Terminal (Cape May County) and 39 mph at the Atlantic City International Airport and Long Beach Township (Ocean 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 Feb 4, 2:55 PM EST, 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 2:55 PM EST, 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
255 PM EST MON FEB 4 2002

SNW SHWRS ARE UPON US...AND GETTING SOME RPRTS OF LGT ACCUMNS.
KEEPING LKLY POPS THRU THE EVE...THEN CLRG THINGS OUT MOST PLACES
OVNGT.

AFT THAT...DRY THRU WED...WITH WNDS DSMHG TMRW AFTN.

COULD GET INTERESTING THU AS SYS BRUSHES BY TO THE SE OF US.

GALE WRNG CONTG ALL MARINE WTRS.

ZONES AVBL PRBLY SOMETIME BTWN 330 AND 4 PM.

.PHI...GALE WRNG CST AND DE BAY.

KRAUS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Cumberland

When
February 4, 3:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Atlantic

When
February 4, 3:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Cape May

When
February 4, 3:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Ocean

When
February 4, 3:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Atlantic

When
February 4, 3:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Western Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Cape May

When
February 4, 3:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Western Cape May forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Ocean

When
February 4, 3:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Western Ocean forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, February 2002

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: 5282561, 5282611, 5282612, 5282613, 5282614, 5282615, 5282616.