This snowpack on the ground is on a generational run. It’s not going away. Friday marks 20 straight days with snow and ice on the ground.
At Atlantic City International Airport, that’s the 4th longest since records began in 1945. The last time it was longer than this was 24 days in 2010.
Long Branch has had at least 6″ of snow cover for these 20 days. That’s the 5th longest streak since records began in 1907. You’d have to go back to 1961 to have this much snow on the ground
for this long. Even at just 3 inches, it’s the longest streak since 1978.
Quite literally, a generational run.
So why is this snow so stubborn to melt? There are many weather reasons.
Let’s start with the most obvious, the cold. That’s keep the ice in place.
Since the winter storm on January 25th, anywhere from just 1-3 days has been in the 40s, according to NOAA. That’s it. Most days have been below freezing.
In fact, Jan. 23 to Feb. 12 has been in the top 4 coldest on record at New Jersey’s major weather stations.
At ACY Airport, the past 3 weeks have felt more like a typical stretch in Portland, Maine, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.
Atlantic City has felt more like Milwaukee.
Plus, the nights have been absolutely frigid for the most part.
Going hand in hand with this is the sun. Sun helps melt the snow, but if it’s below freezing, it can only sublime the snow, going from a solid to a gas, like water vapor.
That’s been happening, but at a slow process. Using Long Branch as the example, the depth of the snowpack went from 10″ on Jan. 26 to only 6″ on Feb. 13, just only 1 days in the 40s.
Next, you’ve seen it all around you, this snowpack is more like an ice cube!
Our winter storm on Jan. 25 was unique. Snow went to 1″-3″ of sleet. That makes the liquid density 2-3 more dense than a similarly deep snowpack comprised all of snow, the National Weather Service says.
Then, freezing rain and rain only added more moisture. That deep freeze after that just locked all of that into place.
The least obvious one is the dew point, or measure of moisture in the air.
When dew points are above freezing, air temperatures are above freezing. So, that will melt the snow pack. However, it also has an even bigger role than that.
Dew points above freezing causes water vapor to turn to liquid water on the snowpack. This change then releases heat, that melts the snow faster, even if the air isn’t super warm.
And as you can probably tell by your chapstick usage, it’s been very dry.
Since the Jan. 25 winter storm, no days has had a dew point above freezing at the Jersey Shore. Even when the air temperature is above freezing, that doesn’t do much to melt the snow.
The result? A Delaware Bay that’s nearly completely covered in ice, slush in the ocean water, ice skating on the Wildwood Beach and the return of the historic Van Nostrand Cup on the frozen Navesink River on Feb. 9.
The Cup has only run five times since it began in 1891. The last time it happened on the river in Red Bank was 2003. The winner gets a Tiffany Silver Cup valued at $100,000.
Just a fraction of the price for a generations worth of icy memories.
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