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Sunset at Colonial Park in Franklin Township (Somerset County) on February 15th (photo by Dave Robinson).
Sunset at Colonial Park in Franklin Township (Somerset County) on February 15th (photo by Dave Robinson).

Perhaps the title of this report is a bit overstated when it comes to February weather conditions, but not by all that much. However, like much of the coterminous United States, it applies rather appropriately to the December 2023–February 2024 winter. New Jersey’s winter conditions follow at the end of this report, with February discussed first.

February 2024 was on the dry side. In fact, the statewide average precipitation (rain and melted snow) of 1.55” was 1.31” below the 1991–2020 normal and ranks as the 12th driest since records began in 1895. The northern climate division averaged 1.68” (-1.11”, 12th driest), the southern division 1.47” (-1.42”, 10th driest), and the coastal division 1.44” (-1.63”, 7th driest).

February snowfall averaged 7.9” across NJ. This was just 0.3” below normal, ranking as the 51st snowiest since 1895. The North snow division averaged 12.4” (+2.1", 40th snowiest), Central 12.4" (+3.3", 36th snowiest), and South 3.2" (-3.5", 58th least snowy). The vast majority of the snow fell in two events four days apart, with mild temperatures that soon followed prohibiting the snow cover for sticking around for too long.

In fact, mild days outnumbered cold ones during February, leading to a monthly statewide average of 37.0°, which was 3.1° above normal and ranks as the 14th mildest on record. The statewide average daily high temperature of 46.3° was 3.2° above normal and ranks 16th mildest. The daily minimum of 27.8° was 3.2° above normal, ranking 9th mildest. The north averaged 34.9° (+3.6°, 12th mildest), south 38.3° (+2.8°, 16th mildest), and coast 38.4° (+2.4°, 16th mildest).

Latest Extremes

City, State Temp
Mansfield, NJ 47
Sicklerville, NJ 46
Holmdel, NJ 46
Lower Alloways Creek, NJ 46
Jersey City, NJ 45
City, State Temp
High Point Monument, NJ 33
Vernon Twp., NJ 37
High Point, NJ 38
Wantage, NJ 39
Chester Borough, NJ 39
most current information as of Mar 29 9:05 AM

Latest Conditions & Forecast

New Brunswick, NJ

Rutgers University Meteorology Program

45°F

Wind

7 mph from the NW

Wind Gust

18 mph from the WNW

Sunny then Sunny and Breezy
55 °F
Mostly Clear
36 °F
Sunny then Chance Showers
58 °F
Chance Showers
44 °F
Partly Sunny
61 °F
Mostly Cloudy then Chance Rain
42 °F
Rain Likely
51 °F
Chance Rain then Rain
43 °F
Rain
51 °F
Rain Likely
42 °F
Rain Likely and Breezy
54 °F
Rain Likely and Breezy
38 °F
Breezy. Chance Showers then Partly Sunny
52 °F

Today

Sunny, with a high near 55. Breezy, with a northwest wind 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 36. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday

A chance of showers after 3pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 58. West wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night

A chance of showers, mainly before 9pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Sunday

Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Northwest wind around 10 mph.

Sunday Night

A chance of rain after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Monday

Rain likely, mainly between 9am and 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Monday Night

Rain, mainly after 3am. Low around 43. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tuesday

Rain. High near 51. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tuesday Night

Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Wednesday

Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Wednesday Night

Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday

A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

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Drought? What Drought?: June 2015 Recap

July 4, 2015 - 7:34pm -- Dave Robinson

Roll Cloud photo

Toward the end of May, the threat of a significant drought loomed over the Garden State, as May proved to be the 3rd driest on record. Crops were in bad shape or not growing at all, and reservoir levels were declining at a faster than seasonal rate. However, New Jersey had yet to reach the point where average and timely rainfall could not remedy the situation. Not only was this prescription filled, it was done in abundance. June rainfall averaged 8.21" across NJ. This was 4.19" above the 1981-2010 normal and ranked 4th wettest since 1895 (Table 1). It joined four other Junes in the past 13 years to rank in the top eight over this 121-year period. As explained in last month's report, the rains that fell during the daytime and evening hours of May 31st factored into the June total, much as the localized afternoon and evening rains on June 30th (discussed below) will count toward the July total.

Third Warmest and Driest as Drought Concerns Arise, and a Pronounced Transition: May and Spring 2015 Recap

June 4, 2015 - 8:52pm -- Dave Robinson

Sea fog photo

May 2015 was a warm and dry month across New Jersey. As the month ended, drought concerns were looming large, though rainfall in the north during the afternoon and evening of the 31st and continuing into the first days of June resulted in at least a temporary braking of the downward slide. Based on data gathered at long-term National Weather Service Cooperative Observing (COOP) stations, May rainfall averaged 1.08" across NJ. This is 2.92" below the 1981-2010 mean and ranks as the 3rd driest May since records commenced in 1895.

As those who have been reading these monthly narratives for some time now know, precipitation that falls at COOP stations after observation time on the last day of the month gets recorded as falling on the first day of the next month. Most COOP stations observe in the morning, thus the heavy showers that fell across north Jersey on the 31st were not factored into this May average, except for a few stations such as Newark Airport (which registered 3.83" on the 31st alone) that observe at midnight. The last time this situation had a notable impact on monthly rainfall was a daytime heavy rain event on April 30, 2014.

Drought Invading New Jersey

May 28, 2015 - 11:14am -- Dave Robinson

30-Day Percent of Normal Precipitation

Whether it is a browning lawn, dry garden soil, or pollen that hasn’t washed off your car in weeks, many of us in New Jersey have recognized that the state is in the midst of an extended period of very meager rainfall. Along with the aforementioned impacts, the flow of water in streams and ground water levels as monitored in wells are below, and in some cases, well below seasonal levels. While it is fortunate that surface reservoirs in northern and central NJ are close to seasonal levels (quite full), there is less water than normal flowing into them and early season lawn watering is drawing water out of them at an unseasonable pace.

Advice provided by our office, by those within the National Weather Service and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and by others associated with the weekly US Drought Monitor has led to this week’s Monitor map depicting the northern third of NJ in D1 (defined as moderate drought) and the remainder of the state down to around the Atlantic City Expressway in D0 (abnormally dry). D1 can be expected to occur once every 5-10 years during a particular month, while D0 can be found every 3-5 years. While the type of conditions being experienced in parts of NJ right now are drought like, I am hesitant to call the north in “moderate” drought, and would prefer saying “minor” drought. However, this is the definition of the nomenclature decided upon by a national committee, thus within the Monitor map it is “moderate” in the north.

Spring Arrives and Remains: April 2015 Recap

May 4, 2015 - 8:36pm -- Dave Robinson

Contrails photo

Complaints are often brought to the Office of the State Climatologist that in recent years the weather in New Jersey has quickly transitioned from winter to summer, thus leaving little time for spring weather. Of course perceptions can be deceiving, as transitional months such as April typically have widely varying weather. At least for April 2015 no protests of a missing spring are warranted, as temperatures reached into the 60°s and 70°s for several days in each week of the month, yet minimums were at times in the 20°s and 30°s throughout April. There was only one major rainfall event, but there were occasional showers. A summer-like squall roared through the state late afternoon on the 22nd, followed the next day by daytime snow flurries. Now that is spring weather!

For Second Consecutive Year, Winter is Slow to Relinquish Its Grip: March 2015 Recap

April 6, 2015 - 5:25pm -- Dave Robinson

Snow on March 5

For the second consecutive year, March served as a meteorological exclamation point on an active cold and snowy season. As in 2013/14, this season had below-average November temperatures, milder-than-average December readings, and below-average January, February, and March tallies. The March temperature this year averaged 35.8°, which is 5.3° below normal and ranks as the 14th coldest since 1895.

This was also the snowiest March statewide and in central NJ since 1993. The northern counties averaged 13.6" (which is 7.5" above normal), the central region was at 14.9" (+10.0"), and the southern counties 8.6" (+5.6"). The state as a whole averaged 11.5" (+7.2"), which is the 13th snowiest March on record. For the season through March snowfall statewide has averaged 34.5" (+8.4"), with the north 50.5" (+15.8"), central 41.4" (+14.4"), and south 22.3" (+2.3"). This is the northern division's first back-to-back 50"+ seasons since the winters of 1903/04 and 1904/05.

March rain and melted snow accumulated to a statewide average of 4.95". This is 0.72" above normal and ranks as the 32nd wettest.

Warm Evenings in New Jersey

March 30, 2015 - 7:55pm -- Jack McCarty

Heat wave photo

Daily temperatures naturally fluctuate from week-to week and year-to-year (factoring out the seasonal “march” of temperature). Thus when temperature trends emerge over decades, it sparks a special interest here in the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist. We are in the midst of a project to examine prolonged heat episodes throughout the state and have found some evidence for recent increases in such events. As impressive winter cold slowly comes to an end in NJ is there a better time to present some of our heat results? Of course not!

Our study involves examining daily maximum and minimum temperatures for seven stations distributed across the state, each with 100-plus years of records. This study began last summer with an evaluation of New Brunswick heat events. We showed that New Brunswick has had an increase of daytime heat events in recent decades and nighttime heat events are becoming more commonplace. In the course of expanding our analysis to seven stations, we have found larger changes in warm nighttime temperatures than in hot daytime temperatures. Excessively warm nighttime temperatures typically get overlooked when discussing potentially dangerous heat episodes, yet they can bring about dangerous health concerns for those unable to escape persistent warmth.

Bitter Cold: February 2015 Recap and Winter 2014-2015 Review

March 7, 2015 - 4:09pm -- Dave Robinson

High Point Monument photo

It will come as no surprise to those reading this report that February 2015 was one of the coldest months on record in the Garden State. The average temperature of 22.0° (11.8° below average) made this month the 3rd coldest February and 6th coldest (tied) of any month since statewide records commenced in 1895. Colder Januaries include 1918 (19.9°), 1977 (20.2°), and 1912 (21.9°), with 1940 equal to this past February.

Statewide, melted snow, ice, freezing rain, and plain rain amounted to 2.34". This was 0.52" below average and ranks as the 32nd driest February. There were five events where snow fell to a depth of 2" or more at one or more locations, however there was no statewide "blockbuster" storm. NJ February snowfall averaged 12.3", which is 4.2" above normal. The northern third of the state averaged 16.3" (+6.2"), central area 12.6" (+3.6"), and southern third 10.1" (+3.5"). The ground remained snow covered throughout the month in northern and central regions, consistently at a depth exceeding 10" in the north and closer to 5" in central areas.

Just How Cold Has It Been?

February 25, 2015 - 4:21pm -- Dave Robinson

Icy Cape May

The answer: remarkably cold! As if anyone living in New Jersey has any doubt. February 2015 is destined to be one of the coldest months since statewide records commenced in 1895. As observations currently stand, along with projections through month’s end, this will likely be the second coldest February and the fourth coldest of any January or February. Table 1 lists the ten coldest Februaries, based on observations gathered from several dozen stations throughout NJ. Looking north and south, it appears as if this will be the second coldest February in the north (Hunterdon, Somerset, and Union counties northward) and third coldest in the south. This is in line with the coldest core being situated over New England and the added chilling effect of the ground being snow covered throughout the month in the north, while only being so over the last two weeks down south. The two colder Januaries were in 1918 (19.9°) and 1977 (20.2°).

The New Jersey Snow Season: A Mid-February Report Card

February 15, 2015 - 5:47pm -- Dave Robinson

Snow plowing photo

As New Jerseyans shiver through a second month of below-average temperatures and a second consecutive colder-than-average winter, it is worth seeing how the state is doing in the snowfall department this season. The brief answer is twofold: first, nowhere is it nearly as snowy as last winter, and second, this year is a tale of a state with a split snow personality.

By this time last winter, folks were talking about challenging the 1995-96 winter for top snowfall honors dating all the way back to 1895. As it turned out, the bulk of winter snow had fallen north of Interstate 195 by mid to late February, while south Jersey experienced a snowy March. Statewide, the 2013-14 winter snowfall averaged 54.3”, which was 28.2” above normal and ranked as the 7th snowiest on record. It was the 4th snowiest on record in northern counties, 6th in central NJ, and 14th in the southern third.

Wooly and a Bit Wild: January 2015 Recap

February 6, 2015 - 4:37pm -- Dave Robinson

Sea smoke photo

The first month of 2015 was a cold one with above-average precipitation. The form of the precipitation varied quite a bit at any particular location as well as across the state over the course of individual events. The statewide average temperature of 27.7° was 3.5° below normal, making it the 32nd coldest January since records commenced in 1895. Precipitation (rain and melted snow) averaged 4.78", which is 1.30" above normal and ranks as the 20th wettest January. Statewide, snowfall averaged 8.6", which is 1.5" above normal and ranks as the 41st snowiest January of the past 121 years. Storms of various intensities arrived every three days throughout the month, and included an impactful freezing rain and flooding event and two moderate snowstorms during the final two weeks. Several bitter cold episodes were punctuated by strong winds and frigid wind chills.

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