snow

One of the more disruptive winters in recent decades continued during February, erasing the hopes of many for an early spring. Averaged across New Jersey, the monthly temperature of 29.5° was 4.3° below normal. This made for the 35th coldest February over the past 120 years and the coldest since 2007. Temperatures ranged from a low of -18° at Walpack in snow covered Sussex County valley on the 11th and 12th to a high of 67° at several southern locations on the 21st. The statewide average precipitation of 5.26" made for the 20th wettest February on record. This includes both rainfall and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation, and is 2.40" above normal. Snowfall averaged 21.9" across the state, which is 13.9" above normal and ranks as the 7th snowiest of the past 120 Februaries.

Following a mild six days of December, when a number of locations approached or exceeded the 50° mark for highs, the bottom fell out of the thermometer. From the 7th through the 18th most of the northern half of the state failed to reach 40°, while southern locations only saw milder highs on the 14th, early on the 15th, and on the 17th. This includes the first sub-zero observation of the winter, when -1° was reached at Walpack (Sussex County) on the 17th and again on the 18th.