New Jersey, 2008

Winter Weather in New Jersey, December 24, 2008

December 24, 2008 · NWS PHI · 13 events in 12 counties and zones

A wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain fell during the first half of the morning on the 24th across central and northern New Jersey. The resulting glaze on untreated roadways led to numerous accidents.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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
2
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
13

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 wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain fell during the first half of the morning on the 24th across central and northern New Jersey. The resulting glaze on untreated roadways led to numerous accidents. Precipitation was spottier across south central New Jersey, but was steadier north of Interstate 195 which just about divides the state in half. Ice accretions in the southern part of the state were less than one-tenth of an inch while ice accretions across the northern part of the state averaged between one-tenth and two-tenths of an inch. In the southern part of the state, precipitation briefly started as sleet a little after Midnight EST before changing to freezing rain. In the northern part of the state, precipitation started as sleet between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. EST and changed over to freezing rain in all areas by 4 a.m. EST. Temperatures continued to rise that morning and by 7 a.m. EST, the freezing rain changed to plain rain in the southern part of the state. Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. EST precipitation changed to plain rain in the northern part of the state.

The recent unseasonably cold weather made it easier for slippery conditions to develop on untreated roadways and led to a rash of accidents. In Morris County, Interstate 287 was closed during the morning because of accidents. Accidents occurred on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Township. Numerous crashes also were reported on Interstate 80 in Warren County and on Interstate 78 in Warren Township and Interstate 287 in Bernards Township (both in Somerset County). In Middlesex County, the Garden State Parkway was closed before sunrise at the Driscoll Bridge because of nearly twenty accidents on the span. In all about 40 accidents were reported on the Garden State Parkway in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties between 230 a.m. EST and 6 a.m. EST. In Monmouth County, in Manalapan Township, six accidents were reported. In Ocean County, in Lakewood, multiple accidents were reported. One motorist was injured after striking a pole. In a separate incident, a woman carrying an infant slipped and fell injuring herself. The number of accidents slowed after sunrise.

The freezing rain and sleet was caused by a low pressure system and its approaching warm front. Precipitation developed preceding the warm front. The arctic high pressure system over the region left enough cold air near the surface for precipitation to start as sleet and freezing rain.

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 Dec 23, 8:53 PM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 8:53 PM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 23, 9:02 PM EST, 2 hours 58 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 23, 9:08 PM EST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Dec 23, 11:44 PM EST, 16 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

13 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Gloucester

When
December 24, 12:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM 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
December 24, 12:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM 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
December 24, 12:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM 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, Mercer

When
December 24, 12:00 AM EST to 7:00 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, Western Ocean

When
December 24, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM 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, Middlesex

When
December 24, 1:00 AM EST to 8:00 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, Hunterdon

When
December 24, 1:00 AM EST to 9:00 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 Weather, Somerset

When
December 24, 1:00 AM EST to 9:00 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 Weather, Western Ocean

When
December 24, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where
Western Ocean forecast zone
Injuries
1 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Morris

When
December 24, 3:00 AM EST to 9:00 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 Weather, Warren

When
December 24, 3:00 AM EST to 9:00 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, Sussex

When
December 24, 3:00 AM EST to 9:00 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, Western Monmouth

When
December 24, 4:00 AM EST to 7:00 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)

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

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, December 2008

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: 143405, 143406, 143407, 143411, 143409, 143410, 143412, 143413, 143653, 143414, 143415, 143416, 143408.