Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 25 to 26, 2007

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 25 to 26, 2007
Start: 2007-02-25T14:00
End: 2007-02-26T05:00
Location: New Jersey

February 25 to 26, 2007 · NWS PHI · 21 events in 21 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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: 21

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 featured a potpourri of precipitation types affected New Jersey from the afternoon of the 25th into the early morning of the 26th. Snowfall accumulations averaged 1 to 4 inches with the highest amounts in Sussex County. Ice accretions occurred from the Raritan Basin southward and averaged one-tenth to one-quarter of an inch with the highest accretions in the Raritan Basin. Precipitation started as snow (some sleet and rain mixed in at the start well south) during the afternoon of the 25th. In the southeast part of the state, the snow changed to sleet and freezing rain during the late afternoon and then to plain rain by the middle of the evening. Ice accretions were less than one-tenth of an inch. In the southwest part of the state, precipitation changed to sleet and freezing rain during the early evening and to plain rain during the late evening. Ice accretions were around one-tenth of an inch. Across the Raritan Basin as well as Mercer and Monmouth Counties, precipitation changed to sleet and freezing rain during the late evening and continued to fall as freezing rain in the Raritan Basin until it ended around 4 a.m. EST on the 26th. In Mercer and Monmouth Counties, precipitation changed to rain before it ended. In northwest New Jersey, precipitation fell mainly as snow, but mixed with sleet at times before it ended by 6 a.m. EST on the 26th. |Untreated roads and walkways were hazardous. The snow did accumulate on road surfaces as the weather had remained unseasonably cold. New Jersey State Police responded to about 400 accidents. |Snowfall accumulations included 4.0 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 3.0 inches in Newton (Sussex County) and Butler (Morris County, 2.6 inches in Blairstown (Warren County), 2.3 inches in Edison (Middlesex County), 2.0 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 1.9 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 1.8 inches in Hillsborough (Somerset County), 1.7 inches in Maple Shade (Burlington County), 1.6 inches in Midwood (Ocean County), 1.5 inches in National Park (Gloucester County), 1.2 inches in Pittsgrove (Salem County), 1.1 inches in Hammonton (Atlantic County), 1.0 inch in Ewing (Mercer County) and 0.9 inches in Cape May (Cape May County). |The low pressure system that caused the winter storm moved northeast from the foothills of the central Rockies on the morning of the 24th. At 7 p.m. EST on the 24th it reached Kansas City, Kansas City and then northeastern Iowa at 7 a.m. EST on the 25th. A secondary low pressure system started forming on the primary low's warm front in South Carolina during the early afternoon of the 25th. At 7 p.m. EST the secondary low was near Raleigh, North Carolina, while the primary low pressure system was weakening near Chicago, Illinois. At 1 a.m. EST on the 26th, the secondary low pressure system was just east of the Delaware coast and at 7 a.m. EST that morning was already well southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. While warm air continued to move in aloft because of the circulation associated with the primary low pressure system, the formation and deepening of the secondary low pressure system slowed the advancement of warmer air near the surface and prolonged the duration of sleet and freezing rain inland, especially in the Raritan Basin. The secondary low pressure system moved offshore too quickly to bring heavy snow into northwest New Jersey.

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 25, 9:25 AM EST, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 9:25 AM EST, 4 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
925 AM EST SUN FEB 25 2007

LATEST ACAR SOUNDINGS FROM THE IAD AREA AND POINTS WWD SUPPORT GFS
MODEL FCST SOUNDINGS. OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS THEY WERE
SHOWING THE WARM LAYER EVAP OR DYNAMIC COOLING. THIS IS A SIM
PROCESS WE ARE EXPECTING TO OCR HERE LATER TDY ONCE PCPN INTENSITY
INCREASES. IMPRESSIVE LLJ OVR THE APLCHNS IS HELPING PCPN ADVECT NWD
EASIER THAN EWD ATTM, BUT THE GFS (AND TO TOO MUCH OF AN EXTENT THE
WRF-NMM) HAD THIS. PPCN STILL EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD OUR CWA THIS
AFTN.

NO CHGS TO ADVYS OR WRNGS ATTM. WE DID REMOVE THE FREEZING RAIN FROM
THE DELMARVA ZONES, BUT ADDED SLEET. WANT TO SEE HOW THE SNOW PART
PLAYS OUT BEFORE WE DROP THE ADVY. ONLY OTHER CHG WAS TO UP ACCUMS A
BIT IN OCEAN/MONMOUTH AND WE/LL SEE WHAT THE REST OF THE 12Z MODEL
RUNS DO. THE SREF ENSEMBLE MEAN KEEPS 32F RIGHT THRU PHL/I95 THRU
THE NIGHT SO THIS IS THE DESTINY OF THIS EVENT, THIS LOCN WILL BE ON
THE FENCE THRUT AND THE SNOW PART IN THE SERN PART OF THE WRNG AREA
IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON A FRONT END LOADING.

&&

.PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PA...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM EST
     MONDAY FOR PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071.

NJ...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM EST
     MONDAY FOR NJZ001-007>010-012-015.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO MIDNIGHT
     EST TONIGHT FOR NJZ021-022-027.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM EST
     MONDAY FOR NJZ013-014-020-026.

     WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM EST
     MONDAY FOR NJZ016>019.

DE...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM EST
     MONDAY FOR DEZ001.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EST
     THIS EVENING FOR DEZ002.

MD...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM EST
     MONDAY FOR MDZ008.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EST
     THIS EVENING FOR MDZ012-015-019-020.

MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM EST
     MONDAY FOR ANZ450>455.

&&

GIGI

PREV AFD ************************************************************

.SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
AS A CONTINUATION TO THE PROCESS, WINTER STORM WARNINGS HAVE NOW
BEEN ISSUED TO REPLACE THE PREVIOUSLY ISSUED WATCHES. ALSO, WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR THE REST OF THE AREA WITH
THE EXCEPTION OF SUSSEX COUNTY DE, CAPE MAY NJ AND COASTAL ATLC
COUNTY.

AS OF WRITING THIS...PCPN HAD ADVANCED THROUGH WV AND WAS MOVING
INTO N CENTRAL VA. SNOW WAS ALSO STARTING TO BREAK OUT OVER THE VA
MTNS WHILE RAIN WAS OBS TO THE SE. EVEN SO, THIS WAS GENERALLY
EXPECTED AS THE COLDER IS REMAINS FARTHER N/E.

AS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ITS ASSOCIATED FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVE
BY TO THE SOUTH TODAY, PCPN WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION.
FORECAST SOUNDINGS AND DIFFERENTIAL THICKNESSES ALL INDICATE
MOSTLY SNOW TODAY EXCEPT IN DELMARVA AND EXTREME SOUTHERN NJ WHERE
SOME RAIN WILL MIX IN. THE PCPN SHOULD BEGIN THIS MORNING SOUTH
AND SPREAD NE THROUGH THE ENTIRE AREA BY EVENING. TEMPERATURES
SHOULD START MOVE ABOVE FREEZING BEFORE THE PCPN STARTS OVER MOST
AREAS BUT ONCE ANY SNOW BEGINS, THE TEMP WILL DROP TO FREEZING OR
BELOW WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SOUTHERN COAST, SUSSEX DE AND CAPE
MAY NJ. THEREFORE FOR THOSE AREAS NO WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES ARE
NEEDED.

TONIGHT...AN AREA OF STRONG VVS MOVES THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING
AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH SOME CONDITIONAL SYMETRIC INSTABILITY,
MAINLY OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AREAS. THEREFORE, SNOW MAY
BECOME HEAVY FOR A TIME EARLY THIS EVENING AND EVEN AN ISOLATED
TSTM CANNOT BE RULED OUT. THEN BEHIND IT SNOW, FREEZING RAIN AND
SLEET CONTINUE IN MOST AREAS AND ICING IS EXPECTED. MODEL
SOUNDINGS LOOK TOO COLD FOR FREEZING PCPN EXTREME NORTH.

OVER THE AREAS WHERE THE ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED, ENOUGH WARM
AIR SHOULD WORK ITS WAY IN FROM THE OCEAN CHANGING PCPN TO RAIN
TEMPORARILY. HOWEVER, LATE AT NIGHT, ONCE THE LOW REDEVELOPS OFF THE
COAST, COLDER AIR WILL RETURN CHANGING THE PCPN BACK TO SNOW SLEET
AND FREEZING RAIN.

ON MONDAY...THE LOW PULLS AWAY BUT, MOISTURE IS LEFT IN ITS WAKE
AS ISENTROPIC LIFT CONTINUES FROM PHL NORTH AND EAST. THIS MEANS
SOME SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO THE THE DAY. IT COULD LAST THROUGHOUT
THE DAY OVER NRN NJ, SO THE WINTER STORM WARNING THAT WAS ISSUED FOR
THERE IS IN EFFECT THROUGH ALL OF MONDAY.

ON MONDAY NIGHT, SOMEWHAT DRIER AIR FINALLY MOVES OVER THE AREA.

&&

.LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... FAIR WEATHER WILL
PERSIST FOR THE MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK AS WE WILL BE ON THE
SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF A LARGE HIGH PRESSURE THAT WILL BE LOCATED
IN EASTERN CANADA. THERE MAY BE A FEW SHOWERS LATE MONDAY INTO
EARLY TUESDAY, ESPECIALLY NORTH, AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT
MOVES THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY CONTINUES TO SLOWLY
DISSOLVE. WITH RIDGING IN THE UPPER LEVELS, WARMER AIR WILL BE
ALLOWED TO SLOWLY FILTER IN FOR THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK AHEAD
OF THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM APPROACHING FROM THE WEST. THE BEST
CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IN THE EXTENDED IS SLATED FOR THE FRIDAY
INTO EARLY SATURDAY TIME PERIOD AS AN OCCLUDED FRONT ASSOCIATED
WITH A LOW PRESSURE NEAR THE GREAT LAKES MOVES ACROSS THE AREA.
TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE WARM ENOUGH TO KEEP PRECIP ALL RAIN DURING
THE DAY FRIDAY, BUT AFTER MIDNIGHT WHEN THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH,
WE COULD GET A MIXTURE.

&&

.AVIATION...
THIS TAF FORECAST WILL BE ONE OF TRANSITIONING...FIRST TRANSITIONING
FROM VFR CEILINGS TO IFR BY THE END OF THE PERIOD. OVERRUNNING
PRECIPITATION WILL BE SLOW TO ADVANCE INTO THE AREA, AS THE LOWEST
LEVELS WILL NEED TO MOISTEN UP SOMEWHAT BEFORE SNOW BEGINS IN
EARNEST THIS AFTERNOON AT OUR TAF SITES. ONCE SNOW BEGINS, CEILINGS
AND VISIBILITIES SHOULD LOWER RAPIDLY INTO THE IFR CATEGORY, AND TO
LOW IFR THIS EVENING. PRECIPITATION TYPE WILL BE PROBLEMATIC, AS
WARMER AIR ON AN EASTERLY FLOW TRIES TO SHUNT THE COLDEST AIR
WESTWARD. FURTHER TRANSITIONING OCCURS AS SNOW WAS BLENDED TO A
MIXTURE OF SNOW AND SLEET, AND THEN MIXING WITH FREEZING RAIN AT THE
CENTRAL TAF SITES. SOUTH AND EAST, FOR MIV AND ABE, RAIN SHOULD
ENTER THE PICTURE BEFORE 06Z AS 1000-850 HPA THICKNESSES RISE ABOVE
1305, AND 850 HPA TEMPERATURES RISE JUST ABOVE ZERO DEGREES C. THE
1305 1000-850 HPA THICKNESS LINE MIGRATES TO ABOUT PHL BEFORE
RETURNING MONDAY MORNING, GIVING CREDENCE TO THE MIXED-TYPE
PRECIPITATION.

WINDS SHOULD BE FAIRLY LIGHT AT THE SURFACE, WITH NOT A GREAT DEAL
OF INCREASE OFF THE SURFACE. ONE EXCEPTION MAY BE AT 925 HPA BY
ABOUT 06Z, WHEN THE SOUTHEASTERN TAF SITES MAY BE BRUSHED BY THE
TIGHTER GRADIENT TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE SURFACE LOW. LOW LEVEL WIND
SHEAR MAY BE IN EVIDENCE FOR A BRIEF TIME, AND LATER FORECASTERS MAY
WISH TO WATCH FOR THIS IF CONFIDENCE GROWS.

&&

.MARINE...
A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WAS ISSUED FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO NOON
MONDAY, AS WINDS BUILD A BIT AND SEAS RESPOND. THE DAYSHIFT SAW
THIS, AND LATER GUIDANCE VALIDATES THIS IDEA. THE WINDS, AS
MENTIONED ABOVE, SHOULD BE STRONGEST SOUTH IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE
LOW, BUT GUSTS COULD REACH 25 KNOTS EVEN NORTH. WAVEWATCH BUILDS
SEAS TO THE 5 OR 6 FOOT CATEGORY LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING,
UNTIL THE LOW PASSES TO THE EAST OF THE AREA, AND THIS IS REASONABLE
AND ACCEPTED.

&&

.TIDES...
TIDES SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TONIGHT AND MONDAY, AS THE POSITIVE
ANOMALIES ARE FORECAST TO REMAIN AT OR BELOW 1.5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL.
ALSO, EFFECTS SHOULD BE LESS THAN DRAMATIC SINCE FULL MOON IS ABOUT
A WEEK AWAY, AND THE COASTAL LOW IS NOT TERRIBLY STRONG AND HAS A
FAIRLY BRIEF IMPACT.

&&

SHORT TERM...STAUBER
LONG TERM...TFG
AVIATION/MARINE/TIDES... /

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 winter weather, 4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Cumberland

When: February 25, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Atlantic

When: February 25, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where: Western Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Salem

When: February 25, 2:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Gloucester

When: February 25, 2:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Camden

When: February 25, 2:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM 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, Northwestern Burlington

When: February 25, 2:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM 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, Western Cape May

When: February 25, 3:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Cape May

When: February 25, 3:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Atlantic

When: February 25, 3:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southeastern Burlington

When: February 25, 3:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Southeastern Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hunterdon

When: February 25, 4:00 PM EST to February 26, 4:00 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 Storm, Mercer

When: February 25, 4:00 PM EST to February 26, 2:00 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, Eastern Ocean

When: February 25, 4:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Monmouth

When: February 25, 4:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Ocean

When: February 25, 4:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Western Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Western Monmouth

When: February 25, 4:00 PM EST to February 26, 12:00 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 Storm, Somerset

When: February 25, 5:00 PM EST to February 26, 4:00 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 Storm, Middlesex

When: February 25, 5:00 PM EST to February 26, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Sussex

When: February 25, 5:30 PM EST to February 26, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Warren

When: February 25, 5:30 PM EST to February 26, 5:00 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 Weather, Morris

When: February 25, 6:00 PM EST to February 26, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, February 2007

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 14701, 14703, 14707, 14708, 14709, 14710, 14696, 14697, 14698, 14704, 14683, 14684, 14699, 14700, 14705, 14706, 14680, 14682, 14686, 14687, 14688.