Blizzard — Western Cape May, New Jersey

2022-01-29 · Western Cape May, New Jersey

Event narrative

A widespread 10 to 15 inches of snow fell. A trained spotter in Goshen reported 14.0 inches of snow. A period of blizzard conditions were confirmed from about 4AM to 9AM on the 29th. This was based on visibility data from the KWWD ASOS and wind data from numerous coastal mesonets, since the WWD ASOS has a known low wind bias.

Wider weather episode

A strong coastal storm affected the eastern mid-Atlantic and Northeast US on January 28-29, 2022. As a deep trough moved into the Southeast US, low pressure began to develop off the coast of the Carolinas during the afternoon of January 28. A high amplitude upper level steering pattern caused the developing low to begin moving north-northeastward, paralleling the US East Coast. In a classic Nor'easter evolution, the developing low phased with a frontal system over the mid-Atlantic as it moved north. This frontal system had brought light snow to portions of the mid-Atlantic during the day on the 28th, and it also brought a fresh influx of cold air to the region. As it phased with the developing coastal storm, the coastal storm began to explosively intensify as it passed offshore of Delmarva. The strengthening storm spread precipitation back into the region, which fell as all snow thanks to the fresh injection of Arctic air. With the center of the low passing a few hundred miles offshore, the heaviest snow fell near the coast, from the night of the 28th through the morning of the 29th. In eastern New Jersey and coastal Delaware, several hours of heavy snow resulted in a widespread swath of 12 to 18 inches of snow. Amounts steadily tapered off heading further inland, though some snow fell in all of the local area. In addition, with the rapid strengthening of the low, strong winds also occurred, especially near the coast. Gusts of 40 to 50 mph with a few over 60 mph were observed. The combination of strong winds and heavy snow led to whiteout conditions along the coast, and was sufficient for blizzard criteria to be met along both the New Jersey coast and the Delaware Beaches, making this the first blizzard to affect any portion of the region since 2018. Snow gradually lost intensity and came to an end during the afternoon of the 29th, as the still strengthening low continued moving northward, bringing blizzard conditions and even heavier snow to southeast New England.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 997339. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.