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The fierce winter storm that dumped snow on New Jersey for more than a day brought enough snow over a major city to break a daily snowfall record, according to the National Weather Service.
Newark Liberty International Airport was blanketed in 14 inches of snow on Monday, breaking the airport’s daily snowfall record for February 1, which was 7.5 inches on that date in 1957, the office said. New York Regional Weather Service.
Newark also picked up 2.2 inches of snow on Sunday, so its storm total is at least 16.2 inches, with patchy snow showers still falling Monday night.
Meanwhile, forecasters are closely watching a much larger record – an elusive record that has stood for nearly 122 years: the greatest snowstorm tally of all time in New Jersey.
This honor belongs to the city of Cape May, where 34 inches of snow fell during a multi-day storm that spanned February 11 through February 14, 1899. Since then, no snowstorm in the Garden State has generated so much snow. , although some are very close.
Now all eyes are on the current, slow nor’easter, which has already dumped a huge amount of snow over parts of northern New Jersey.
On Monday evening, the Mount Holly National Weather Service’s forecast office received reports of 30 inches of snow on the ground in Mendham in Morris County and 28.3 inches of snow in Sparta in Sussex County.
It’s quite possible that several more inches of snow could fall overnight, so forecasters at the Mount Holly office are paying close attention to the long-standing record, said Jonathan O’Brien, a meteorologist at the office.
However, even if a snow report greater than 34 inches arrives at the National Weather Service, it will not be declared an all-time record unless it goes through a strict verification process, according to O’Brien and New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson, whose office at Rutgers University oversees the state’s climate data and records.
O’Brien said all snowfall totals that are reported to the weather service are considered preliminary until confirmed. And Robinson said any report of snow for something as important as a statewide record would be subject to careful scrutiny under procedures put in place by the National Centers for environmental information, formerly known as the National Climate Data Center.
Robinson said the process involves determining the procedure used by the weather observer, or “observer,” who reported the snowfall measurement, and making sure the procedure meets the appropriate standards for measuring snow.
It’s not something weather and climate experts take lightly, Robinson noted.
So if you see a photo on social media of someone holding a tape measure showing 35 inches of snow somewhere in New Jersey, don’t assume it’s a new all-time record. It would still have to be verified.
Current weather radar
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Len Melisurgo can be reached at [email protected].
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