Astronomical Low Tide in New Jersey, January 8 to 9, 2009

Name: Astronomical Low Tide in New Jersey, January 8 to 9, 2009
Start: 2009-01-08T00:30
End: 2009-01-09T08:00
Location: New Jersey

January 8 to 9, 2009 · NWS PHI · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 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: 12

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 potent pair of storms moved through the Mid Atlantic and Northeast during the 7th and into the 8th. One potent storm moved across the eastern Great Lakes region during the evening of the 7th, while a secondary potent storm developed along a front off the New Jersey coast. Both of these storms combined into one large and intense storm early on the 8th across the Canadian Maritimes. Behind these storms, much colder air flowed across the region, and this combined with a tightened pressure gradient, which produced strong offshore winds. This caused blow-out tides to occur during the late evening hours of the 8th.

The water level at the Sandy Hook tidal gage dropped to 1.81 feet below mean lower low water at 10:48 PM EST on the 8th then bottomed out at 1.88 feet below mean lower low water at 11:18 PM EST on the 8th. The water level at the Barnegat Light tidal gage dropped to 1.80 feet below mean lower low water at 10:54 PM EST on the 8th then bottomed out at 1.86 feet below mean lower low water at 11:18 PM EST on the 8th. The water level at the Atlantic City tidal gage dropped to 1.81 feet below mean lower low water at 9:36 PM EST on the 8th and bottomed out at 2.17 feet below mean lower low water between 10:12 PM EST on the 8th. Farther to the south, the water level at the Cape May tidal gage dropped to 1.86 feet below lower low water at 11:06 PM EST on the 8th then bottomed out at 2.13 feet below lower low water between 11:48 PM EST and 11:54 PM EST on the 8th. Blow-out tides begin at 1.80 feet below mean lower low water.

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 7, 9:00 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 9:00 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 7, 10:01 AM EST, 14 hours 29 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 7, 11:30 PM EST, 1 hour before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 astronomical low tide. Local standard time, as filed.

Astronomical Low Tide, Western Cape May

When: January 8, 12:30 AM EST to January 9, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Cumberland

When: January 8, 1:00 AM EST to January 9, 2:30 AM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Eastern Atlantic

When: January 8, 9:00 PM EST to January 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Eastern Monmouth

When: January 8, 10:30 PM EST to January 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Eastern Ocean

When: January 8, 10:30 PM EST to January 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Southeastern Burlington

When: January 8, 10:30 PM EST to January 9, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Southeastern Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Western Monmouth

When: January 8, 11:00 PM EST to January 9, 12:30 AM EST
Where: Western Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Eastern Cape May

When: January 8, 11:30 PM EST to January 9, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Salem

When: January 9, 5:00 AM EST to 6:30 AM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Gloucester

When: January 9, 5:00 AM EST to 6:30 AM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Camden

When: January 9, 5:30 AM EST to 7:30 AM EST
Where: Camden forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Astronomical Low Tide, Northwestern Burlington

When: January 9, 6:30 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Northwestern Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: C-MAN Station
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Astronomical Low Tide: Unusually low water from tides and offshore wind that caused impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Jersey in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, January 2009

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: 143138, 143139, 143136, 143132, 143134, 143135, 143133, 143137, 143142, 143143, 143144, 143145.