Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, March 6, 2003

A low pressure system that formed on a slow moving cold front brought heavy snow to Sussex County and a wintry transition from rain to sleet, freezing rain and then snow across most of the rest of northern and southwestern New Jersey. Accumulations averaged around 6 inches in Sussex County, 2 to 4 inches across the rest of northwestern New Jersey and around an inch or less across central and southwest New Jersey. Precipitation started as snow across northern Sussex County during the morning commute. Across southern Sussex County precipitation started as a mixture of sleet and freezing rain between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. EST and then changed to snow during the morning commute. The snow fell at its heaviest from mid-morning into early afternoon. The snow ended during the evening. Across the rest of northwest New Jersey, precipitation started as rain between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. EST and then transitioned from rain to sleet to freezing rain and then snow during the morning commute from north to south. Snow continued through the afternoon and ended during the early evening. Across central New Jersey precipitation started as rain between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST. and then transitioned into the same wintry mix during the morning commute and then to snow toward the end of the morning. Snow ended during the early evening. In southwestern New Jersey, precipitation started as rain between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. EST. Sleet started to mix with the rain during the second half of the morning. Precipitation then changed to just sleet around Noon EST and then a mixture of light freezing rain, sleet and snow for the rest of the afternoon before it ended around 6 p.m. EST. Even though temperatures were below freezing, the indirect insolation from the sun kept most roadways near Philadelphia wet when the freezing rain fell. Ice accretions on exposed surfaces, mainly those with northern exposures, neared one-quarter of an inch.The worst reported road conditions were in the northern half of the state. Interstate 80 was described as treacherous through Warren County. In Hunterdon County, numerous accidents were reported on U.S. Route 22 and Interstate 78. In Morris County, a jackknifed tractor-trailer on Eastbound Interstate 80 slowed the roadway for hours. Numerous minor accidents were reported on back roads throughout northwest New Jersey. Evening public meetings were canceled. Schools never opened in Sussex County. Specific snow and sleet accumulations included 8.5 inches in High Point (Sussex County), 7.5 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 7.0 inches in Hamburg (Sussex County), 6.0 inches in Vernon (Sussex County), 5.0 inches in Sussex (Sussex County), 4.5 inches in Butler and Milton (Morris County, 4.0 inches in Phillipsburg (Warren County), 3.2 inches in Morristown (Morris County), 3.0 inches in Chatham (Morris County), Hackettstown and Hope (Warren County), 2.3 inches in Lebanon Township (Hunterdon County), 1.8 inches in Somerville (Somerset County), 1.5 inches in Asbury Park (Monmouth County) and Flemington (Hunterdon County), 1.0 inch in East Brunswick (Middlesex County), 0.8 inches in Princeton and Washington's Crossing (Mercer County), 0.4 inches in New Brunswick (Middlesex County) and Mount Holly (Burlington County). A cold front moved slowly through New Jersey during the night of the 5th before stalling in the Delmarva Peninsula during the morning of the 6th. A weak low pressure system developed along the frontal boundary and was in West Virginia during the morning of the 6th. As the low pressure system moved southeast of the region during the afternoon and evening of the 6th, it pulled the cold front farther south and ended the precipitation. The other player was a high pressure system which built east from the upper Mississippi Valley the morning of the 5th into Ontario Province the morning of the 6th. This high pressure system supplied fresh cold air and helped change precipitation from liquid to frozen across the region.