WINTER STORM SUMMARY FOR
JANUARY 14, 2006 TO JANUARY 15, 2006 EVENT

Synopsis

A return of winter weather occured overnight Saturday January 14th through Sunday morning January 15th. An area of low pressure moved across the Great Lakes region and Northern Pennsylvania with it's trailing cold front extending down the eastern seaboard on early Saturday morning, producing thunderstorms across much of the region during the early morning hours. As the front moved off the coast Saturday night, a second area of low pressure developed off the New Jersey coast. As the cold air filtered in behind the front Saturday night into Sunday morning, snow began falling across most of New Jersey, as well as parts of eastern Pennsylvania and the Delmarva region. Very strong winds accompanied this snow as well, and blowout tides were reported along the lower Delaware River fromt Trenton to Marcus Hook, and in the Chesapeake Bay.

Watches/Warnings/Advisories

A number of different Warnings and Advisories were issued during this whole event, ranging from Severe Thunderstorm Warnings at the beginning, to Winter Storm Warnings by the end of the event. Saturday morning before the snow came, a Tornado Watch was in effect for the area, and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued for the following counties: Sussex, DE; Cape May, NJ; Northampton, PA; Lehigh, PA; Warren, NJ; Sussex, NJ. Wind Advisories were issued for the whole PHL CWA on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, Snow and Blowing Snow Advisories were issued for Sussex, Warren and Morris counties in New Jersey; and Carbon, Monroe, Lehigh, and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania. The Snow and Blowing Snow Advisories were later expanded to cover all counties in the PHL CWA late Saturday night. Early on Sunday morning, a Winter Storm Warning was issued for Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Cumberland, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties in New Jersey. All Snow and Blowing Snow Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings were canceled or expired on Sunday morning. Later as the winds died down on Sunday afternoon, the Wind Advisories were allowed to expire.

Precipitation/Temperatures/Winds

Snowfall totals varied across the whole region, ranging from trace amounts to nearly 8 inches reported in some areas. Central New Jersey received the most snow averaging around 5 inches, with locally heavier amounts up to 8 inches. Southern New Jersey received on average 2-4 inches. Northern New Jersey, as well as most of Pennsylvania averaged 1 to 2 inches of snow, while the highest reported in northern Delaware was a trace. No snow reports were received from southern Delaware or Maryland, though there might have been a slight accumulation in some areas. Temperatures were generally in the upper 40's to lower 50's before the front passed through, and after the front passed, temperatures began to fall very rapidly. By the time the snow began falling, temperatures had dropped to lower 30's and eventually made it down into the mid 20's by the time the event ended. Winds began to increase as well after the passage of the cold front. Winds were anywhere from 25 to 35 mph with even higher gusts that ranged from 45 to 55 mph with the highest gust of 71 mph at Breakwater Harbor, DE. The winds finally diminished by Sunday night.

Significant Impacts/Aspects

The thunderstorms that preceeded the snow caused a few downed trees and power lines with their strong winds. The heavy snows and strong winds caused low visibilities and many snow drifts around the area. This hampered the measurement of accurate snowfall across the region. One river in northern New Jersey reached flood stage, and record blowout tides were reported at Philadelphia along the Delaware River on Sunday (3.1 Ft below MLLW...the previous record was 2.9 Ft below MLLW).

Notes

Information contained in this summary is preliminary. More complete and/or detailed information may be contained in subsequent monthly NOAA storm data publications.