A major winter storm affected the northeastern United States, including the northern mid Atlantic region, during Saturday February 11th and Sunday February 12th. An area of low pressure developed along the Gulf Coast states on Friday February 10th, and began moving to the northeast toward the North Carolina coast during February 11th.  Rain developed across extreme southeastern New Jersey around 11 AM EST on Saturday February 11th. Snow overspread the rest of the region around 11 AM EST on Saturday from south to north. The precipitation initially was relatively light with temperatures either at or above freezing. The snow really increased in intensity from northeast Maryland, across eastern Pennsylvania and most of New Jersey around Midnight EST. In New Jersey, the heaviest snow started around 8 AM EST (on the 12th) from west to east. Even areas that saw rain to start, changed to snow during the mid to late morning hours on Sunday the 12th. The snow gradually ended from southwest to northeast around Noon EST on the 12th, however the snow lasted until around 6 PM EST on the 12th for northeastern New Jersey. The snow fell steadily and became heavy at times in many areas late Saturday night and Sunday morning. The last strong band of snow passed through during the mid morning hours on Sunday the 12th. During this strengthening storm, a good portion of the region experienced intense snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour. These intense snowfall rates mainly occurred during Sunday morning the 12th as the storm really intensified off the Delaware and southeast New Jersey Coasts. During the height of the storm on Sunday morning the 12th, thunder and lightning occurred as the snow fell. The presence of this thundersnow just goes to show how energetic this storm became. Also, winds gusted to around 40 mph across the inland areas, with even higher gusts along the coast. The gusty winds, coupled with the falling and accumulated snow, produced near whiteout conditions along with drifting snow across a good portion of the area. The storm moved away from the region on Sunday afternoon the 12th, allowing the accumulating snow to come to an end. The winter storm of February 11-12, 2006 greatly affect New Jersey with intense snowfall rates, gusty winds and near whiteout conditions. The New Jersey Transit suspended all bus service statewide on the 12th. The New Jersey Turnpike had a reduced speed limit of 45 mph posted during the night of the 11th, which was then reduced further to 35 mph during the morning of the 12th with a ban on trailers and motorcycles. Also, the Atlantic City Expressway had a reduced speed limit of 35 mph during the height of the storm. From about Noon on the 11th to midnight on the 12th, the Garden State Parkway had 66 vehicle accidents and the New Jersey Turnpike had 100, however none were serious.In Trenton (Mercer County), slippery roads contributed to a car crash which toppled a traffic light the evening of the 11th, with no serious injuries reported. A 15-year old boy was reportedly struck by a car, which skidded on an icy patch in front of the Sovereign Bank Arena, and he was hospitalized for arm and leg injuries. A school bus slid into a ditch in Southampton (Burlington County) on the 13th and turned onto its side. No injuries were reported, however three children were taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution.About a dozen accidents were reported across Gloucester County from late on the 11th through about midday on the 12th. A car rolled over during the morning of the 12th, due to icy roads, after sliding off May's Landing Road, with no injuries were reported. On Route 130 in Haddon Township (Camden County), a 3-car accident occurred the morning of the 13th due to a snow covered traffic light. One of the drivers was injured with a possible hip injury. A Willingboro (Burlington County) police officer suffered a broken ankle and leg when his patrol vehicle slid off the road in slippery conditions during the morning of the 12th on Route 130. The officer's vehicle was totaled as a result of the accident. A 2-car accident on Deal Road (Ocean Township, Monmouth County) occurred at 320 PM EST Sunday (the 12th) due to icy spots. One vehicle slid into oncoming traffic, causing the accident, with 2 minor injuries. A 2-vehicle accident occurred during the morning of the 13th in Wall Township (Monmouth County) on Route 70 due to lingering icy spots, resulted in both drivers going to the hospital, however the extent of any injuries is unknown.  Slippery roads caused several minor accidents in Millville (Cumberland County) late on the 11th and into the 12th. Across Middlesex County, a couple of ambulances, escorted by fire trucks in Woodbridge, became stuck in snow drifts during the morning of the 12th. Also, a handful of vehicle accidents were reported in Perth Amboy (Middlesex County) during the morning of the 12th. A tractor trailer became stuck in a snow drift in East Brunswick (Middlesex County) early on the 12th.  A tree was downed, due to a combination of heavy snow and wind, which blocked the travel lanes of Route 9 in the Smithville section of Galloway Township (Atlantic County) on the 12th. Additional trees as well as power lines were downed across Atlantic County. About 120,000 Atlantic City Electric customers lost service during the height of the storm. A total of 5,000 customers lost power in Gloucester County during the height of the storm. The total of affected customers impacted by outages, across a larger area of the region, reached 15,000 during the height of the storm throughout Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Mercer and Burlington Counties.The winter storm also impacted events that were scheduled around the region, including school on the 13th even though the falling snow had ceased on the 12th. The town meeting in Stafford Township (Ocean County) was cancelled on the 12th. Entertainment shows in Ocean County were cancelled due to the weekend storm. Sports activities were cancelled or postponed in Burlington County during the 11th and 12th, with even a code blue weather emergency was issued in Burlington County during the storm. The Burlington Center Mall in Burlington County closed on the 12th due to the winter storm. The Trenton-Mercer County Airport (Mercer County) closed at 2 AM EST Sunday (the 12th) due to the heavy snow and gusty winds. Due to the amount of snow that fell, the city of Trenton (Mercer County) cancelled trash pickup on the 13th as many of the trucks were still being used for additional snow removal and clean-up. The city of Camden (Camden County) issued a snow emergency on the 12th due to the amount of snow that fell. The Vineland Public Schools (Cumberland County) cancelled classes on the 13th to allow for additional storm clean-up. Some Hunterdon County schools were closed, many Warren County schools had a 2-hour delay, most of Monmouth County schools, and schools and Ocean County had delays on the 13th to allow for additional storm clean-up.  Almost every school in Middlesex County was also closed on the 13th.Some specific snowfall amounts include, 19.0 inches in Metuchen (Middlesex County), 18.5 inches in Lawrenceville (Mercer County), 18.0 inches in Lambertville (Hunterdon County), 17.5 inches in South Plainfield (Middlesex County), 17.5 inches in Morris Plain (Morris County), 17.0 inches in Franklin (Somerset County), 16.0 inches in Morganville (Monmouth County), 16.0 inches in Marcella (Morris County), 14.5 inches in Belle Mead (Somerset County), 14.5 inches in Stewartsville (Warren County), 14.0 inches in Lumberton (Burlington County), 14.0 inches in Hamilton Square (Mercer County), 13.5 inches in Glassboro (Gloucester County), 13.1 inches in Wertsville (Hunterdon County), 13.0 inches in Cherry Hill (Camden County), 12.8 inches in Mount Laurel (Burlington County), 12.5 inches in Hackettstown (Warren County), 12.1 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 12.0 inches in Port Monmouth (Monmouth County), 12.0 inches in New Egypt (Ocean County), 11.0 inches in Mullica Hill (Gloucester County), 10.0 inches in Highland Lakes (Sussex County), 9.2 inches in Pittsgrove (Salem County), 8.6 inches in Estell Manor (Atlantic County), 8.0 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 8.0 inches in Northwest Vineland (Cumberland County), 6.5 inches in Sea Bright (Monmouth County), 6.1 inches in Bayville (Ocean County), 5.0 inches in Eldora (Cape May County), 4.2 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport (Atlantic County), 3.5 inches in Green Creek (Cape May County), and 2.0 inches at the Cape May Harbor (Cape May County).

Winter Storm in CUMBERLAND, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 05:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 15:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in MERCER, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 03:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 04:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 15:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 07:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in MORRIS, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 03:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 15:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 04:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SALEM, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 00:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 14:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 02:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 14:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 07:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 07:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WARREN, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 03:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 15:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN ATLANTIC, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 05:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 09:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in WESTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 04:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 10:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in EASTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 12:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 04:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 04:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 16:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm in HUNTERDON, NEW JERSEY
From 12-FEB-06 02:00:00 to 12-FEB-06 15:00:00 (EST)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER