The combination of a high pressure system over nearby New England and a low pressure system moving northeast along the Eastern Seaboard produced a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain in New Jersey. While precipitation changed to plain rain by early afternoon in southern New Jersey and late afternoon in the Raritan Basin, the cold air could not be scoured from Northwest New Jersey. This caused between a quarter of an inch and half an inch of ice to accrue. Hazardous driving conditions and scattered power outages resulted. Precipitation began as snow across the region around daybreak. As warmer air moved in aloft from the southeast and south, the snow changed to plain rain along the coastal plain. Farther inland, precipitation changed to freezing rain. This change spread north to the Raritan Valley by 3 p.m. EST and throughout Northwest New Jersey by 7 p.m. EST. The change to plain rain occurred in the Raritan Valley around 4 p.m. EST, but struggled through the evening to move through Warren and Morris Counties and never reached Sussex County.  Snow accumulations averaged 2 to 6 inches in the northern half of the state. Accumulations in the southern half of the state were less than two inches. Precipitation started as plain rain near the coast.  Ice accretions ranged from around one-tenth of an inch in the Raritan Valley to half an inch in Sussex County. Numerous accidents were reported. Power outages were mainly restricted to Sussex County. About 2,100 homes and businesses lost power in the county with Hopatcong Borough hardest hit. Road closures and power outages because of downed poles lasted through the afternoon of the 15th in the borough. Schools were either closed or had delayed openings in the county on the 15th.  Specific accumulations included 7.0 inches in Boonton (Morris County), 5.5 inches in Chatham (Morris County), 5.0 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 4.5 inches in Butler (Morris County), 4.0 inches in Newton (Sussex County), Belvidere (Warren County) and Newton (Sussex County), 3.8 inches in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 3.5 inches in Hackettstown (Warren County), 3.0 inches in Metuchen (Middlesex County), Belle Mead (Somerset County) and Long Valley (Morris County), 1.8 inches in Ewing (Mercer County), 1.4 inches in Mount Holly (Burlington County), 1.2 inches in Somerdale (Camden County) and 1.0 inch in Freehold (Monmouth County).  The low pressure system responsible for the winter storm went from near Mobile, Alabama at 7 p.m. EST on the 13th, northeast to just east of Wilmington, North Carolina at 7 a.m. EST on the 14th, near Norfolk at 1 p.m. EST on the 14th, in the lower Chesapeake Bay at 4 p.m. EST, in Delaware Bay at 7 p.m. EST on the 14th, near Hammonton, New Jersey at 10 p.m. EST on the 14th and just south of Jones Beach, New York at 1 a.m. EST on the 15th. The high pressure system that locked in the cold air near the surface retreated from Maine at 7 a.m. EST on the 14th to Nova Scotia at 7 p.m. EST on the 14th.

Winter Storm in MORRIS, NEW JERSEY
From 14-DEC-03 07:00:00 to 15-DEC-03 01:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY
From 14-DEC-03 06:00:00 to 15-DEC-03 03:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WARREN, NEW JERSEY
From 14-DEC-03 06:00:00 to 15-DEC-03 01:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather in HUNTERDON, NEW JERSEY
From 14-DEC-03 07:00:00 to 14-DEC-03 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather in SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY
From 14-DEC-03 07:00:00 to 14-DEC-03 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER