Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 27 to 28, 2004

The combination of a high pressure system over nearby Canada and a pair of low pressure systems - one that moved into the Great Lakes before dissipating and another that formed over the Virginia coastal waters gave New Jersey a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow. Heavy snow fell across the northern half of New Jersey. Some spotty light freezing drizzle or freezing rain fell throughout most of the day on the 27th. The only exception was in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland Counties where temperatures rose above the freezing mark. During the late afternoon as a low pressure system was forming over the Virginia coastal waters, precipitation intensity increased and heavier freezing rain and sleet began falling across the area. The exception was in far northwest New Jersey where precipitation started and continued as mainly snow. As colder air moved in from the north, the wintry mix changed to all snow in central and southwest New Jersey between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST (From the northwest to the southeast). In Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland Counties, the rain changed to snow between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST. The heaviest snow fell across the state between 7 p.m. EST on the 27th and 1 a.m. EST on the 28th. Snowfall rates were averaging one to two inches per hour during the heavier snow in northern New Jersey. The snow ended from south to north between 1 a.m. and 10 a.m. EST. Accumulations averaged between 5 and 10 inches in the northern half of the state and 2 to 5 inches in the southern half of the state. Untreated roads were slippery and numerous accidents occurred. There were many spin out accidents. During the freezing drizzle on the morning of the 27th in Burlington County, five cars skidded into each other in the southbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike. A couple skidded off the road and one overturned. A female passenger in the car died. The following day, a 48-year-old Mount Laurel (Burlington County) man died of a heart attack while shoveling the snow. Many schools dismissed early on the 27th and many schools were closed in the northern half of the state on the 28th. Drifting snow hampered road crews in the northern half of the state. Specific accumulations included 11.5 inches in Butler (Morris County), 11.2 inches in Marcella (Morris County), 9.8 inches in Sparta (Sussex County), 9.0 inches in Vernon (Sussex County), 8.3 inches in Parsippany (Morris County), 8.0 inches in Morristown (Morris County), 7.5 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 7.3 inches in Morris Plains (Morris County), 7.0 inches in North and South Brunswick (Middlesex County) and Blairstown and Hackettstown (Warren County), 6.2 inches in Belvidere (Warren County), 5.9 inches in Pottersville (Somerset County), 5.8 inches in Manasquan (Monmouth County) 5.5 inches in West Amwell Township (Hunterdon County) and Clarksburg (Monmouth County), 5.0 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 4.8 inches in Hamilton Square (Mercer County), 4.5 inches in Mount Holly (Burlington County) and Belle Mead (Somerset County), 4.0 inches in Princeton, 3.5 inches in Beachwood (Ocean County), 3.4 inches in Maple Shade (Burlington County), 3.0 inches in Bridgeton (Cumberland County) and Turnersville (Gloucester County), 2.4 inches in Hammonton (Atlantic County), 2.2 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 2.0 inches in Lindenwold (Camden County), Pennsville (Salem County), Glassboro (Gloucester County) and Seabrook (Cumberland County) and 1.5 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport.While the first low pressure system was heading off the North Carolina coast around sunrise on the 26th, another low pressure system was already in Arkansas. This low pressure system moved northeast into the lower Ohio Valley during the afternoon of the 26th and reached Ohio around sunrise on the 27th. The low moved north into Michigan during the afternoon of the 27th and remained nearly stationary as it slowly weakened during the evening and overnight. This low pressure system brought a wedge of warmer air aloft across the region. What made precipitation fall as either freezing rain or sleet was a large high pressure system over nearby Canada that fed cold air south near the surface. This high pressure system's influence weakened in southeastern New Jersey where temperatures managed to rise above the freezing mark during the daylight hours and early evening on the 27th. During the late afternoon of the 27th, a second low pressure system formed over the Virginia coastal waters. By 7 p.m. EST when it was located near the Virginia Capes, its central pressure was already as strong as the Michigan low pressure system. The Virginia low pressure system moved northeast and intensified and by 1 a.m. EST on the 28th, was located about 120 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey and by 7 a.m. EST it was about 240 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey. As this second low pressure system intensified and its upper air support moved across the Middle Atlantic States, precipitation intensity increased further and the precipitation changed to snow.