Winter Weather — Middlesex, New Jersey
2014-01-10 · Middlesex, New Jersey
Wider weather episode
A winter weather event dropped snow across northwest New Jersey and the Raritan Valley and a wintry mix that became predominately freezing rain across the rest of central Jersey as well as southwest New Jersey on the 10th. This caused hundreds and hundreds of accidents, a couple of which were fatal, during the morning commute, especially in the greater Philadelphia Metropolitan area suburbs and Ocean County. Snowfall in northwest New Jersey and the Raritan Valley averaged 1 to 2 inches. But it was the around one tenth of an inch of ice that fell across southwest New Jersey and the rest of central New Jersey that had the greatest impact.
In the Raritan Basin and northwest New Jersey precipitation started as snow between 6 a.m. EST and 9 a.m. EST on the 10th. Precipitation changed to sleet before it ended in the Raritan Basin. Precipitation ended between 11 a.m. EST and Noon EST that morning. In central New Jersey and the local Philadelphia suburbs in southwest New Jersey, precipitation started briefly as snow between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m EST, but changed quickly to sleet and then freezing rain by 8 a.m. EST. The freezing rain changed to plain rain between 10 a.m. EST and Noon EST that morning and ended early that afternoon.
In Ocean County, in Brick Township, a 76-year-old woman was killed after she left her car and was then struck by another vehicle during part of a thirteen vehicle crash on the Beaver Dam Bridge connecting the township with Point Pleasant. Vehicles could not stop after the initial accident occurred and one struck struck the woman. Three other persons suffered injuries. The second fatal accident occurred in Camden County. A 29-year-old woman was killed after her vehicle crashed into a Philadelphia-bound New Jersey Transit bus on West Branch Avenue in Pine Hill. Her Sports Utility Vehicle was approaching the bus from the other side of the road when it spun out of control and struck the front of the bus. The driver was killed and a passenger was seriously injured. Seventeen of the twenty-one passengers on the bus were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
New Jersey State Police responded to over 250 calls of accidents on major roadways statewide just between 7 a.m. EST and 10 a.m. EST. Camden County emergency personnel responded to 1000 calls, 71 of them involving accidents. The Virtua Hospital system treated 225 people alone for slip and fall accidents in Burlington and Camden Counties. New Jersey Transit buses were delayed by up to two hours in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties. The Walt Whitman Bridge connecting Camden County to Philadelphia was closed for an hour after a multi-vehicular accident and a need to salt the entire span. School buses stopped running their routes because it became too dangerous. Meals on Wheels stopped their deliveries.
In Gloucester County, there were a couple of school bus accidents in Washington Township, none involving children. A fire truck also ran off the road in the township. In Camden County in Gloucester Township, a private ambulance overturned. A police vehicle was struck by another vehicle after it stopped to investigate another accident. In Burlington County, in Southampton Township, a fire truck spun out on U.S. Route 206 and struck four other vehicles. A firefighter was ejected from the vehicle and seriously injured. In Mercer County, a ten vehicle accident occurred on U.S. Route 1 in Lawrence Township and closed the northbound lanes for hours. Eastbound Interstate 195 was closed between Robbinsville in Mercer County and Upper Freehold in Monmouth County due to icing. In Ocean County, there were 30 vehicle accidents in Brick Township. In Manchester Township, there were 21 crashes within three hours, four with injuries. In Barnegat Township, there were 25 vehicle crashes (in 90 minutes), 14 slip and fall incidents and 16 injuries overall. In Middlesex County, in South Brunswick there were multiple car crashes and the township advised motorists to avoid the area as many roads in the eastern part of the township were impassable.
Representative ice accumulation included 0.15 inches in Hamilton Township (Mercer County). Representative snowfall included 1.5 inches in Pittstown (Hunterdon County), 1.4 inches in Phillipsburg (Warren County), 1.3 inches in Bridgewater (Somerset County), 1.2 inches in Sussex (Sussex County), 0.7 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 0.5 inches in Succasanna (Morris County) and 0.4 inches in Hamilton Township (Mercer County).
The wintry mix was caused by the combination of an approaching warm front and the return flow off the Atlantic Ocean from the departing arctic high. Extremely cold weather preceding this event made it easy for the rain to freeze on contact, even in places where air temperatures were slightly above freezing.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 493033. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.