New Jersey, 2004

Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 14 to 15, 2004

January 14 to 15, 2004 · NWS PHI · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

An Alberta Clipper low pressure system dropped snow across all of New Jersey with the heaviest amounts in the northern half of the state. Snow began falling during the evening of the 14th and continued through the morning commute on the 15th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
14

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.

An Alberta Clipper low pressure system dropped snow across all of New Jersey with the heaviest amounts in the northern half of the state. Snow began falling during the evening of the 14th and continued through the morning commute on the 15th. Accumulations ranged from one to three inches across much of the southern half of the state and from three to eight inches across Ocean County and much of the northern half of the state. The snow led to hazardous traveling conditions with many fender-benders and slip-sliding accidents. There were hundreds of spin-outs and minor accidents. Numerous minor accidents were reported on the Garden State Parkway. On the 15th, many schools in the northern half of the state were closed, most of the others had delayed openings. Specific accumulations included 8.0 inches in Oakhurst (Monmouth County), 7.5 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 7.0 inches in Holmdel (Monmouth County), 6.5 inches in Flanders (Morris County), 6.0 inches in Metuchen (Middlesex County), Branchville (Sussex County), Hope and Belvidere (Warren County) and Whippany (Morris County), 5.5 inches in Bound Brook (Somerset County), 5.1 inches in Belle Mead (Somerset County), 5.0 inches in Lebanon (Hunterdon County) and Toms River (Ocean County), 4.9 inches in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 4.2 inches in Princeton (Mercer County), 4.0 inches at the McGuire Air Force Base (Burlington County) and Flemington (Hunterdon County), 3.0 inches in Pennsauken (Camden County) and Harvey Cedars (Ocean County) and 2.0 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport and Maple Shade (Burlington County). The Alberta Clipper low pressure system moved from Alberta Province Canada on the morning of the 13th into Wisconsin on the morning of the 14th, to central Ohio during the early evening on the 14th, into Chesapeake Bay just after midnight EST on the 15th and about 300 miles east of the Delmarva Peninsula by 10 a.m. EST on the 15th. Precipitation amounts were light, generally less than one quarter of an inch. The unseasonably cold air caused the liquid equivalent to snow ratio to reach as high as 30 to 1 across parts of the northern half of New Jersey. It normally averages around a 10 to 1 ratio.

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 Jan 14, 4:35 PM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 14, 4:35 PM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 14, 5:50 AM EST, 12 hours 10 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 14, 3:56 PM EST, 2 hours 4 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 heavy snow, 6 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Monmouth

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 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, Middlesex

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 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
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 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
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 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
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 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)

Heavy Snow, Western Monmouth

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 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)

Winter Weather, Camden

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Camden forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Hunterdon

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Hunterdon forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Mercer

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Mercer forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Northwestern Burlington

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Northwestern Burlington forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Somerset

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Somerset forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southeastern Burlington

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Southeastern Burlington forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Ocean

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 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, Western Ocean

When
January 14, 6:00 PM EST to January 15, 10:00 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)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, January 2004

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5384022, 5384023, 5384024, 5384025, 5384026, 5384027, 5384028, 5384029, 5384030, 5384031, 5384032, 5384033, 5384034, 5384035.