This article initially appeared in Shore Local magazine on Jan. 28
The biggest New Jersey winter storm of the 2025-’26 season so far brought the roads, rails and skies to a halt on Sunday.
An atmospheric river from the South Pacific collided with an Arctic air mass, creating near-perfect conditions for a significant winter storm on Jan. 25. However, this was not a pure snowstorm.
A layer of above-freezing temperatures roughly 5,000 to 14,000 feet high eventually turned powdery snow into sloppy sleet late morning and early afternoon. This transition, though, came after several inches of snow was recorded around the area.
Atlantic City International Airport recorded 6.2 inches of snow and sleet by the time the storm ended Sunday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Other totals in Cape May and Atlantic counties included:
- Buena Vista – 6.7 inches
- Hammonton – 6.3 inches
- Ventnor – 6.0 inches
- Ocean City – 6.0 inches
- Woodbine – 6.0 inches
- Cape May – 5.0 inches
Similar to the Dec. 14 storm, the northern half of the Jersey Shore cashed in on the snow and sleet. Point Pleasant reported 10.3 inches, Long Branch had 10.5 inches and Brick reported 10.9 inches.
The highest totals were in far northwest New Jersey. Not only was it all snow, but it was powdery snow. That was thanks to unusually cold temperatures during the snow. It was in the single digits with heavy snow. You just don’t see that often in New Jersey.
Also unusual was the split in precipitation type across the state. The Jersey Shore warmed from the teens to the upper 20s by late Sunday morning. It was snowing. However, along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor in South Jersey, it was sleeting, despite temperatures in the mid-teens. It could have been much snowier, too.
When you look at coastal storms you look at the track to give you an idea of who will receive snow, a mix or rain. Typically, when low pressure systems go over 40 degrees north latitude, 70 degrees west longitude, that brings all snow to the I-95 corridor, with mixing where we are, farther east. This low pressure system was farther west, though, roughly 74 degrees longitude at 40 degrees north latitude.
Meteorologists call this the “benchmark.” However, the center of the storm was only about 50 miles east of Atlantic City at one point. Yet, we snowed and got sleet, with rain only falling in Cape May, Atlantic and Ocean counties. That was because of the brutally cold air mass we had Saturday. High pressure to the north was feeding in Arctic air. If the low pressure went over the typical benchmark, it would have been fair to say that 12 to 20 inches of snow and sleet would blanket the coastal counties, similar to the Blizzard of 2022.
Snowfall was mostly in line with expectations and road conditions remained treacherous into Monday.
Remember, generic weather apps are not human curated and can change on a dime, as it just spits out whatever blend of computer models they use.
Meteorologist Jon Rocco created most of this report. You can follow him on Facebook or X.
Leave a Reply