Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New Jersey, October 29 to 30, 2011

Name: Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New Jersey, October 29 to 30, 2011
Start: 2011-10-29T10:00
End: 2011-10-30T00:00
Location: New Jersey

October 29 to 30, 2011 · NWS OKX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A historic and unprecedented early-season winter storm impacted the area on Saturday, October 29, with more than one foot of heavy wet snow falling on interior portions of northeast New Jersey. This is the first time a winter storm of this magnitude has ever occurred in October.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 1
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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 OKX wrote it up.

Late Friday night, October 28, an area of low pressure emerged from the South Carolina coastal plain into the western Atlantic Ocean. The low moved up the coast late Friday night into Saturday morning. The low began to rapidly strengthen late Saturday morning when it was east of the Delmarva coast, and continued to strengthen as it passed south of Long Island Saturday night. Areas just north and west of New York City were just cold enough to support a heavy wet snow. The heaviest snow fell across interior northeast New Jersey, with up to 18 inches of snowfall across higher elevations.

Thousands of people across northeast New Jersey lost power during this event as heavy snow accumulated on trees that still had partial to full foliage during mid-autumn. This caused extensive felling of trees and limbs across the region and damage to power lines.

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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 29, 9:47 AM EST, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 29, 9:47 AM EST, 13 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 29, 3:19 AM EST, 6 hours 41 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

5 winter storm, 4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Passaic

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Passaic forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.034, -74.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread tree damage and power outages occurred due to 4 to 7 inches of heavy wet snow. The heavier amounts fell in the higher elevations.

In Hawthorne, branches were reported down on wires on Washington Avenue around 3 pm EST. While in Wayne, numerous trees were downed with power outages by around 335 pm EST.

Heavy Snow, Western Bergen

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Western Bergen forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.960, -74.074 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread tree damage and power outages occurred due to 4 to 9 inches of heavy wet snow. The heavier amounts fell in the higher elevations.

In Paramus, wires were downed on Paramus Road at Morningside at around 135 pm EST, while in Ridgewood, Maple at Ackerman Roads were closed due to downed trees and powerlines. In Midland Park, numerous trees and powerlines were reported down at 230 pm EST. A tree was reported down on a house on Woodland Avenue in Ramsey at 720 pm EST, with three other reports of damaged cars due to falling trees.

Heavy Snow, Western Essex

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Western Essex forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.787, -74.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread tree damage and power outages occurred due to 6 to 12 inches of heavy wet snow. The heavier amounts fell in the higher elevations.

In Cedar Grove, all lanes were closed due to downed wires on NJ 23 at County Road 617 around 730 pm EST. In North Caldwell and West Orange, multiple trees and power lines were reported down across the town by the evening of the 29th. In Millburn, all lanes were closed on NJ 124 west at Lakeview Avenue due to a downed tree in the early morning of the 30th. In Roseland, a child was injured when a tree branch fell on a child on Evelyn Road around noon on the 30th.

Winter Storm, Eastern Bergen

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to October 30, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Bergen forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 40.960, -74.074 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread tree damage and power outages occurred due to 2 to 7 inches of heavy wet snow. The heavier amounts fell in the higher elevations.

In North Arlington at around 1pm EST, a tree was reported down on a car at the intersection of Ridge Road and Crystal Street, and a tree down on a house at Morgan Place. In Park Ridge, large tree branches were reported down with popping transformers around 1 pm EST. In Palisades Park, NJ 93 was closed in both directions at County Road 501 and at County Road 56 in Leonia due to fallen trees, around 3 pm EST. At around the same time, in Englewood Cliffs, wires were downed across US 9W in both directions and closing all lanes.

Winter Storm, Eastern Essex

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Essex forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 40.787, -74.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A significant number of trees came down across the county by around 3 pm EST due to 4 to 6 inches of heavy wet snow.

In Belleville, numerous trees were reported down and blocking roadways around 3 pm EST.

Winter Storm, Western Union

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Western Union forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 40.660, -74.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A significant number of trees came down across the county starting around 1 pm EST due to 3 to 6 inches of heavy wet snow.

In Union, a tree came down on a car across Route 22 East on the Garden State Parkway around 1 pm EST. In Mountainside, all lanes were closed on US 22 East at Mountain Avenue due to downed trees around 2 pm EST. In Springfield, multiple exits along I-78 were closed due to downed trees on the afternoon of 29th.

Winter Storm, Eastern Union

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Union forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 40.660, -74.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A significant number of trees came down across the county starting around 2 pm EST due to 2 to 4 inches of heavy wet snow.

All lanes were closed on NJ 439 south at County Road 623 in Elizabeth due to a downed tree around 200 pm EST.

Winter Storm, Hudson

When: October 29, 10:00 AM EST to October 30, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Hudson forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 40.731, -74.076 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A significant number of trees came down across the county starting around 1 pm EST due to 2 to 5 inches of heavy wet snow.

In Harrison, Grant Avenue was closed around 1 pm EST due to tree branches down on cars, while numerous trees were reported down on Cleveland Avenue and throughout the town.

Heavy Snow, Western Passaic

When: October 29, 11:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Western Passaic forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.034, -74.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread tree damage and power outages occurred due to 7 to 19 inches of heavy wet snow. The heavier amounts fell in the higher elevations.

In West Milford, where 19 inches of snow was measured, a downed tree closed all lanes on Route New Jersey 23 northbound at County Road 295 at around 5 pm EST.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
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 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, October 2011

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 352938, 352941, 352942, 352944, 352945, 352946, 352947, 352948, 352939.