Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 23, 2006

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 23, 2006
Start: 2006-01-23T01:00
End: 2006-01-23T08:00
Location: New Jersey

January 23, 2006 · NWS PHI · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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 winter storm that produced a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain affected the higher terrain of Sussex and Warren Counties and to a lesser extent Morris County. Accumulations averaged 1 to 3 inches and ice accretions averaged around one-quarter of an inch. Precipitation started as snow around Midnight EST on the 23rd. Precipitation changed to freezing rain between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. EST on the 23rd and was in the process of changing to plain rain by 6 a.m. EST in the lower terrain locations and throughout most of Morris County. The change to plain rain spread throughout the area by the middle of the morning. The rain ended during the afternoon. Prior to the changeover, untreated roads were slippery. Specific accumulations included 2.6 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 2.5 inches in Butler (Morris County) and 2.0 inches in Highland Lake (Sussex County) and Blairstown (Warren County). Ice accretions generally averaged around one-quarter of an inch in the higher terrain locations of Warren and Sussex Counties. The winter storm was caused by a fast moving low pressure system that developed over the Gulf of Mexico. The high pressure system was over the region on the 22nd and moved east into the New England coastal waters by the morning of the 23rd. This is normally not a favorable position for freezing rain. In this instance precipitation moved into the region so quickly and overnight, that the cold air near the surface could not get scoured. The low pressure system itself moved from near Houston, Texas at 7 p.m. EST on the 22nd northeast to northern Alabama at 1 a.m. EST on the 23rd and then into eastern Kentucky at 7 a.m. EST on the 23rd. A secondary low pressure system formed on its warm front over Delaware and during the course of the morning became the main low pressure system. By 1 p.m. EST it was approaching Cape Cod, Massachusetts and was well east of the Cape by 7 p.m. EST that evening.

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 22, 3:30 PM EST, 9 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 3:30 PM EST, 9 hours 30 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 22, 5:00 AM EST, 20 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
500 AM EST SUN JAN 22 2006

ANZ430-431-450>455-DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-
007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071-231100-
DELAWARE BAY WATERS NORTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE-
DELAWARE BAY WATERS SOUTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE-
COASTAL WATERS FROM SANDY HOOK TO MANASQUAN INLET NJ OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM MANASQUAN INLET TO LITTLE EGG INLET NJ OUT
20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM LITTLE EGG INLET TO GREAT EGG INLET NJ OUT
20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM GREAT EGG INLET TO CAPE MAY NJ OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE MAY NJ TO CAPE HENLOPEN DE OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE HENLOPEN TO FENWICK ISLAND DE OUT 20 NM-
NEW CASTLE-KENT DE-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-CECIL-KENT MD-
QUEEN ANNES-TALBOT-CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-
SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX-WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-
GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN-NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-
ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC-
COASTAL OCEAN-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-
NORTHAMPTON-CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA-
500 AM EST SUN JAN 22 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, THE NORTHERN MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE AND
NEW JERSEY, EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST COUNTIES.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHERN POCONOS AND FAR
NORTHWEST NEW JERSEY FOR LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY. SNOW, SLEET,
AND FREEZING RAIN ARE POSSIBLE.

A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINDER OF EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA, FOR NORTH CENTRAL, CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST NEW JERSEY,
AND FOR NORTH DELAWARE AND NORTHEAST MARYLAND FOR MONDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

MPD

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Morris

When: January 23, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: January 23, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.857, -74.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sussex

When: January 23, 7:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Jersey in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, January 2006

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: 5486557, 5486556, 5486555.