Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 13 to 14, 2007

A combination of snow, ice and wind brought down trees and power lines, which cut the power to roughly 80,000 customers in Monmouth, northern Ocean, Middlesex and Burlington counties by the early afternoon of the 14th. At 1:30 PM on the 14th, state troopers had responded to more than 1,250 accidents on New Jersey roads since 5 PM on the 13th. The state police responded to more than 900 accidents between 5 AM and 1 PM on the 14th. There were three fatalities, including two in which motorists left their vehicles after minor accidents and then were struck by another vehicle. On the 14th, the speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike was lowered to 35 mph due to the slippery conditions along with reduced visibilities. New Jersey Transit reported no serious problems or major delays on its commuter-rail lines and only minor delays on its bus routes. Public Service Electric and Gas reported nearly 4,300 outages at 11:30 AM on the 14th. At least 7,000 Atlantic City Electric customers were without power in South Jersey by the early afternoon of the 14th, most in Salem and Gloucester counties. In total, an estimated 55,000 Atlantic City Electric customers lost power as a result of the storm. Jersey Central Power and Light had more than 100,000 customers without power during the height of the storm.|An area of low pressure tracked across southeastern Canada during the 12th, which brought an arctic front across the Mid Atlantic region late on the 12th. As this occurred, a strong area of high pressure located across central Canada built down into the Northeast, allowing very cold air to spill southward ultimately leading to what is known as cold air damming. This occurs east of the mountains down through the Mid Atlantic states. Meanwhile, a Pacific storm slammed onto the California coast during the 11th and as it moved eastward, a new area of low pressure developed across southeastern Colorado and the Texas Panhandle. This storm became impressive as it moved into the Ohio Valley during the 13th. However as additional energy moved into the eastern part of the country, a new area of low pressure developed near the North Carolina coast late on the 13th. This allowed mainly light snow to overspread the region from south to north during the early morning hours of the 13th. As the secondary area of low pressure became more organized to our south, moisture began to fill in across North Carolina and Virginia and this moved northward. The arctic front that slipped through the state on the 12th was positioned across the southern Delmarva and this began a northward jog during the night of the 13th and the morning of the 14th. The intensifying area of low pressure tracked very near southern Delaware and then slid close to the New Jersey Shore during the morning of the 14th. This system continued to intensify as it moved into New England during the afternoon and evening of the 14th. The track of the storm kept winds at the surface from the northeast, which pretty much locked in the cold air at the surface for the inland areas while some warmer air worked in above the surface. The upper-level system then passed overhead during the evening of the 14th, with the entire system pretty much a memory by late in the evening of the 14th. |Snow began across New Jersey around 7 AM EST on the 13th from Camden to Atlantic Counties on southward; between 8 AM and 10 AM EST across Burlington and Ocean Counties; between 12 PM and 3 PM EST in Warren, Hunterdon, Mercer and Monmouth Counties, and around 5 PM EST in Sussex, Morris, Somerset and Middlesex Counties. There was a general lull in the precipitation during the evening hours of the 13th especially across the central and southern areas, however the precipitation became widespread overnight and during the early morning hours of the 14th. As some warmer air began to move in above the surface, the snow mixed with and changed to sleet and freezing rain inland between 6 PM and 7:15 PM EST on the 13th from Burlington and Ocean Counties on southward. Elsewhere, the changeover occurred generally between 7:45 PM and 11 PM EST on the 13th for Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, and for the counties farther to the north the changeover was delayed until the early morning hours of the 14th. Milder air made its way to the Shore and about 20 miles inland to change the mixed precipitation over to plain rain around 2 AM EST on the 14th. There was a fairly tight gradient in temperatures and precipitation types as icing continued for an extended period of time for the inland communities. Areas closest to the Delaware River saw mostly sleet once the changeover from snow occurred, while areas farther eastward saw more freezing rain. This produced significant icing in many areas of interior New Jersey, causing the downing of some trees and power lines. Ice accumulated to a half of an inch thick in Tinton Falls (Monmouth County), which downed numerous trees. The precipitation ended across the state around 10 PM EST on the 14th.|In Middlesex County, In South Brunswick, the winter storm caused a whopping 22 accidents in the township on the 14th. No serious injuries were reported. Most of the accidents happened between 10:30 AM and Noon. A traffic light at the intersection of Route 27 and Stillwell Road was knocked down in an accident during the morning of the 14th. In Old Bridge, a portion of Route 9 was closed in both directions after a dump truck used for dispensing salt knocked down wires and a telephone pole. There were no injuries reported. In North Brunswick, schools were closed on the 14th. In Franklin Township, there were about half a dozen motor vehicle accidents during the morning rush hour on the 14th, none of which were serious. District schools were closed on the 14th. In Linden, there were nine accidents in various parts of the city, and Linden schools closed on the 14th. In Rahway, a vehicle slid into a utility pole at the intersection of Main Street and New Brunswick Avenue around 5 PM the 14th as a result of the weather conditions. The driver of the vehicle was not seriously hurt. In Spotswood, the sleet and snow caused a two-car accident on the 14th. One car slid off the road and was struck a utility pole on Manalapan Road; another car hit a tree on Devoe Avenue. No one was injured in either accidents. In Sayreville, police reported 17 accidents between 6 AM and 2 PM on the 14th. |In Monmouth County, a large tree was toppled over from the weight of the ice on Park Avenue early on the 14th, which just missed a house. Several downed trees blocked Route 33 on the 14th, which were brought down by ice. The New Jersey Department of Transportation worked to clear the downed trees from the highway. A large ice-covered tree toppled over early on the 14th onto Route 34 in Howell, blocking traffic in both directions. Areas affected the most by power outages included, Eatontown, Fair Haven, Farmingdale, Freehold, Howell, Little Silver, Neptune, Red Bank, Rumson, Shrewsbury, Tinton Falls, and Jackson (Ocean County). The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management set up community shelters by late afternoon on the 14th as close as they could to areas hardest hit by power outages. Personnel from the American Red Cross were on hand to help. A shelter was also opened in Shrewsbury at the firehouse for those who lost power. In Howell, the first aid building on Kent Road became a shelter on the 14th in the continuing effort to offer residents a warm place to go. About a half a dozen people were bused to the shelter during the morning of the 15th by the Howell Office of Emergency Management. In the hills of Highlands, a car was destroyed when a tree fell on it early on the 14th. Eatontown police issued a code red message through an automated telephone system on the 14th to residents in the Woodmere section, bordered by Wyckoff Road, Route 35 and the Industrial Park, asking them to stay home because so many trees, branches and wires were littering the roads. Between 7 AM and 3 PM, Eatontown police had 115 weather-related calls, including motor vehicle accidents; fallen power, phone and cable lines; trees blocking roads; and alarms that were set off by the storm. On the 14th, New Jersey Transit workers had to lower and raise the gates manually at the Broad Street-Route 35 railroad crossing in Red Bank, knocking snow and ice from them.|In Ocean County, Snow, ice and rain damaged the roof at Brick Memorial High School on the 14th. The school let out early on the 14th after it began to leak in several places, damaging ceiling tiles and forcing administrators to relocate students from the wet areas. None of the school’s estimated 1,900 students or 100 staff members were hurt. In Jackson, a shelter, staffed by a Red Cross certified volunteer, was opened on the 14th at the Jackson Memorial High School. The Colonial Arms Apartment Complex, a senior citizen facility, was without power and heat on the 14th. A bus took residents to the shelter, but they later returned to the complex at their request. The Jackson police reported that power outages in the township affected so many intersections that several roadways were closed to avoid additional problems. The Jackson police headquarters had to switch to emergency generator power on the 14th as a result of the ice. The Route 70 Bridge between Brick and Brielle was closed for more than an hour while police cleared three vehicles after an accident. In Point Pleasant Beach as well as some other coastal communities, schools opened late on the 14th, allowing buses and parents to navigate through flooded local roads. In many areas, snow and ice clogged sewer drains, flooding roadways that had chunks of ice bobbing in the wake of slowly passing vehicles. |Across the rest of southern New Jersey, in Atlantic County, during the evening of the 13th, a woman was killed on the Garden State Parkway south of the Atlantic City Expressway when she was involved in a minor fender-bender, got out to inspect the damage, and was stuck and killed by another vehicle. In Burlington County, on the 15th, following the winter storm, two boys in Mount Laurel, both around 12 years old, fell through the ice while playing on a local pond. One boy managed to quickly free himself, but the other lost consciousness and had to be rescued by a local firefighter. The boy was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated during the night of the 15th. A 17-year old Medford girl was critically injured on the 14th in a crash on Branin Road. The girl was driving north on Branin Road at 3:07 PM when her vehicle went off the road and crashed into a tree near Stokes Road. The girl was knocked unconscious and rescue workers had to cut her free from the wreckage. She was flown to Cooper University Hospital in Camden with head, neck and internal injuries. Snow and ice covered roads were a factor in the crash. Up to a quarter of an inch of freezing rain accumulated across parts of the county. It was mostly snow and sleet though in communities right along the Delaware River.|In Cumberland County, sleet and freezing rain resulted in several roadways becoming a sheet of ice on the 13th into the 14th. State Police at the Port Norris barracks reported 17 vehicle accidents between 5:53 PM and 7:26 PM on the 13th, seven of them on Route 55 and several on Route 347. Vineland Police reported they were swamped with calls due to the inclement weather, however an estimate on the number of calls was unknown. Some trees and power lines were reported down throughout the county. In Gloucester County, freezing rain weighted down power lines and tree branches in Mantua on the 14th. PSE&G reported more than 18,000 residents were without power at one point. Additionally, 1,600 customers of Atlantic City Electric lost power during the afternoon of the 14th. Across the county, ice knocked down trees and power lines and 23 of the 28 county schools closed on the 14th. In Woodbury, an ice covered branch ripped through a porch roof of a home at 7 AM on the 14th. In Salem County, due to the weather conditions, Salem County schools canceled classes and many residents endured power outages because ice bringing down power lines. In the southern and eastern sections of the county, the snow and sleet changed to rain, while the northern and western sections saw icing because just enough difference in temperatures occurred. The ice caused about 10,000 Atlantic City Electric customers in the county to experience power outages beginning during the early morning hours of the 14th. About 5,500 customers were still without power at 2 PM on the 14th, with Pennsville, Penns Grove, and Carneys Point Townships being the hardest hit areas in the county. |Across northwest New Jersey in Morris County, in Parsippany, six vehicles got stuck heading up the hill on westbound Route 10 near Manor Lane on the 14th. Strong winds immediately following the storm caused some snow to drift onto some roads and also produced a refreeze; keeping road crews busy through the 14th and even through the evening of the 15th. In Sussex County, icy conditions across the county forced schools and businesses to close on the 14th into the 15th. In Warren County, the County Courthouse was closed on the 14th. One vehicle overturned on Interstate 78 in Readington Township about 1:15 PM on the 14th and another crashed into a pole in Mansfield Township a few minutes earlier. The county Emergency Management Agency reported 29 vehicle crashes occurred across the county through 1 PM on the 14th. Two of those resulted in injuries. In Hackettstown, a pedestrian was injured after falling on the slippery snow on the 14th.|Some snow/sleet accumulations included 7.8 inches at the High Point State Park (Sussex County), 7.5 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 5.9 inches in Sussex (Sussex County), 4.3 inches in National Park (Gloucester County), 4.2 inches in Riegelsville (Hunterdon County), 4.0 inches in Hackettstown (Warren County), 4.0 inches in Butler (Morris County), 3.8 inches at the Belvidere Bridge (Warren County), 3.8 inches in Liberty Corner (Somerset County), 3.2 inches in Cream Ridge (Monmouth County), 3.0 inches in Florence (Burlington County), 2.7 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 2.6 inches in Mount Laurel (Burlington County), 2.5 inches in Edison (Middlesex County), 2.5 inches in Morris Plain (Morris County), 2.1 inches in Ewing (Mercer County), 2.1 inches in Pittsgrove (Salem County), 2.0 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 1.4 inches in South Egg Harbor (Atlantic County), 1.3 inches in West Cape May (Cape May County), 1.2 inches in Hillsborough (Somerset County), 1.2 inches in Hammonton (Atlantic County), 1.2 inches at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly (Burlington County), 1.0 inch in Margate (Atlantic City), and 0.8 of an inch at the Atlantic City International Airport (Atlantic County).