A wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain occurred across much of New Jersey west of the New Jersey Turnpike from the afternoon of the 17th through the afternoon of the 18th. In Gloucester, Camden and Burlington Counties snow began falling between 3 p.m. EST and 4 p.m. EST on the 17th. Precipitation was mixed with some rain and sleet from the start in Camden and Gloucester Counties.  After 8 p.m. EST precipitation fell as mainly rain with some sleet mixed in from time to time into the early morning of the 18th. Accumulations were under an inch. Across Mercer County and the Raritan River Basin, snow began between 4 p.m and 6 p.m EST and fell moderately at times. The change to sleet and plain rain took longer as mixed precipitation fell throughout the evening.  Precipitation fell as plain rain from the early morning on the 18th until it ended during that day.  Snow and sleet accumulations averaged 1 to 3 inches. Across Morris, Warren and Sussex Counties, snow began falling between 6 p.m. EST and 9 p.m. EST on the 17th. Sleet began mixing in after midnight EST with pockets of freezing rain in some of the higher terrain valleys. Plain rain occurred from around 6 a.m. EST onward on the 18th, but a mixed bag of precipitation persisted throughout the day across Sussex County until the event ended around 6 p.m. EST on the 18th.  Snowfall and sleet accumulations averaged 1 to 2 inches as the heaviest precipitation remained south of  the region. Ice accretions from the freezing rain were less than one-quarter of an inch. Since this event occurred on a Sunday night, no significant accidents were reported. High temperatures from the 14th through the 16th averaged in the 60s north and the 70s south. This probably helped keep road surfaces relatively warm and ice free throughout this event. Some slippery bridges and overpasses were reported during the morning commute on the 18th in Sussex County. Most of the accumulations reported were on grassy surfaces. Specific accumulations included 4.0 inches in Pottersville (Somerset County), 3.3 inches in Lambertville (Hunterdon County), 2.0 inches in Pennington (Mercer County) and Rockaway (Morris County), 1.8 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 1.4 inches in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 1.0 inch in Morristown and Long Valley (Morris County), Belvidere (Warren County) and Princeton (Mercer County), 0.5 inches in Mount Laurel (Burlington County) and 0.3 inches in Maple Shade (Burlington County).A strong cold front moved through the northeast on the 16th and brought in considerably colder air. A high pressure system built into eastern Canada and northern New England on the 17th and helped lock the cold air in place, especially at and within the lowest 5000 feet of our atmosphere. Meanwhile a weak low pressure system developed on the old cold frontal boundary in the Tennessee Valley during the morning of the 17th. It moved eastward off the Carolina coast on the18th. Because the low was so far south and weak, the heaviest precipitation remained from the Philadelphia suburbs and southern New Jersey southward with this event. On the other hand, since the low was relatively weak, so was the onshore flow and thus the longer it took to scour the cold air from the lower layers of the atmosphere.

Sleet in BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 15:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 02:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 15:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 01:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 15:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 00:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in HUNTERDON, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 17:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 03:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in MERCER, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 16:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 02:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 17:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 02:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in MORRIS, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 18:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 10:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 17:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 03:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 19:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 18:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet in WARREN, NEW JERSEY
From 17-MAR-02 18:00:00 to 18-MAR-02 10:00:00 (EST)
Crop damage: 0
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER