Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 21, 2005

Name: Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 21, 2005
Start: 2005-02-21T17:00
End: 2005-02-21T23:00
Location: New Jersey

February 21, 2005 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Some light freezing rain fell across sections of Sussex County during the late afternoon and evening of the 21st. The heavy snow had ended during the morning.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: 1

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.

Some light freezing rain fell across sections of Sussex County during the late afternoon and evening of the 21st. The heavy snow had ended during the morning. The fresh coating of ice made for slippery travel on untreated roadways. In Sparta, New Jersey State Route 15 was jammed because of accidents and slippery conditions. Two persons were injured after they slid off the roadway after crossing a patch of ice. The freezing rain ended late that evening and ice accretions were less than one tenth of an inch.The heavy snow earlier in the day was caused by a low pressure system that formed to the lee of the central Rockies on the 19th. It moved into eastern Iowa during the afternoon of the 20th, central Illinois during the evening of the 20th, Lake Erie shortly after midnight EST on the 21st and Lake Ontario around sunrise on the 21st. Precipitation occurred on the cold side of this low pressure systems warm front. The second batch of precipitation occurred as a secondary low formed on the warm front east of New Jersey and trapped low level cold air in place.

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 21, 2:25 PM EST, 2 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 21, 2:25 PM EST, 2 hours 35 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

1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Sussex

When: February 21, 5:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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

Every storm in New Jersey in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, February 2005

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: 5437759.