Record-Breaking Snow Fall In The Jefferson Area? Data Says Maybe

JEFFERSON, NJ - A winter storm started off the week dumping snow totals upwards of 30 inches in the Garden State. But was it enough to break records? The answer isn't as clear as you might think.

Only a few centenarians may remember April 15, 1921, the day it snowed 76 inches in Boulder County, Colorado. Snowfall records for a single day aren’t quite as impressive in Morris County, according to an analysis of government weather data.

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Historical weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows every state in the country, even tropical Hawaii, has seen snow. A February 1936 storm that dumped 6½ inches of snow on Maui was impressive even by Midwest and Northeast standards. The only other time that Hawaii had an extreme snowfall was in December 1958, when the Big Island got 4½ inches.

In Morris County, the biggest one-day snowfall was 26 inches in February 1978. In New Jersey, the record goes to Somerset County and Sussex County when it snowed 30 inches. For Somerset County, this record occurred on Jan. 23, 2016. In Sussex County, it occurred on Jan. 26, 1905. In Warren County, the biggest one-day snowfall was 23 inches on Jan. 25, 1905.

That compares to records in neighboring counties:

• Burlington County, 19.6 inches: Dec. 20, 2019
• Essex County, 29.5 inches: Jan. 8, 1996
• Atlantic County, 21 inches: Feb. 17, 1902

But the key metric here is: single day.

The storm we had this week began Sunday and didn't wind down in some places until the wee hours of Wednesday morning. That makes the comparison more apples to oranges at this point. According to the National Weather Service, here is what we have in Morris County snow totals so far:

• 1 SSE Chester, 31 inches
• Mendham, 30 inches
• Mount Arlington, 35.1 inches
• Budd Lake, 29.6
• Randolph, 29.3 inches
• Green Pond, 27.1 inches
• Long Valley, 26 inches
• Lake Hopatcong, 25.4 inches
• Marcella, 24 inches
• Boonton, 19 inches
• Lincoln Park, 18.5 inches

The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicted a reprieve from harsh winter weather this year. They're predicting a light winter for most of us here in the United States, with warmer-than-normal temperatures in the forecast for a large part of the country.

Uncommonly chilly temperatures will be limited mostly to the western states and northeastern New England. Specifically, winter will be colder than normal in Maine; the Intermountain, Desert Southwest, and Pacific Southwest regions; and eastern Hawaii and above normal elsewhere.
On the precipitation side of things, expect “wet” to be a wintertime constant, with rain or average to below-average snowfall to be the standard throughout most of the country.

Did parts of New Jersey break records this storm? While it seems likely, nothing is confirmed yet. And as soon as Patch knows, you will too.

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