A frontal boundary was draped from the southern Mid Atlantic region southwestward to the northern Gulf of Mexico. An area of low pressure developed along this front across the lower Mississippi Valley late in the day on the 27th. The storm system then moved northeastward and tracked near the Ohio River Valley during the morning of the 28th. As the storm continued to track northeastward, it strengthened as it moved into New England during the early evening hours of the 28th. An associated cold front then swept across the Mid Atlantic region during the early evening hours of the 28th.
A cold air mass ahead of the system allowed for snow to overspread the state generally from south to north during the 27th. As milder air then worked in especially above the surface, the snow changed to sleet and freezing rain during the night of the 27th mainly across the southern and central parts of the state. Enough warming occurred during the 28th, which allowed the wintry mix to change over to plain rain before ending mainly across the central and southern parts of the state. The mixed precipitation held on the longest across the northwestern part of the state as the cold air remained entrenched longer. The combination of the frozen and freezing precipitation along with the cold temperatures, created a high impact event for most of the state. This also produced very slippery roadways across the state.
The Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township (Hunterdon County) was briefly on backup generators on the 28th due to the winter storm, which caused some problems with power lines in the area. Nineteen weather-related wrecks were reported in Warren County through 12:00 PM EST on the 28th, which included a jack-knifed tractor-trailer on a back road in Mansfield Township. The mixture of snow, sleet and rain late on the 27th and on the 28th produced messy road conditions and prompted schools to close across Morris County. Roads were particularly bad during the morning of the 28th as the snow fell at nearly an inch per hour for a time. Around 12:00 PM EST on the 28th, two lanes of Route 287 northbound were closed after a truck flipped near Exit 32 in Harding (Morris County). At about the same time, an entrance ramp on Route 80 in Mount Olive was closed because of an overturned vehicle. Less than a dozen accidents were reported in Washington Township. During the afternoon of the 28th, flooding became a problem in some areas as slush clogged storm drains and created pockets of water at intersections. An acceleration lane on Route 80 eastbound in Denville was closed briefly at 2:00 PM EST on the 28th after a large area of standing water formed. Flooding also caused some problems in Parsippany at both Baldwin and Parsippany roads. Some power outages were reported however these were mostly minimal in scope according to officials.
The winter storm produced a couple inches of snow late on the 27th and the 28th, however as milder air moved in, dense fog overspread the Ocean County area. The visibility was reduced to near zero in many areas. During the evening hours of the 28th, a fog warning was issued for the entire length of the Garden State Parkway. Due to the inclement weather, as many as 500 Jersey Central Power and Light customers lost power in the Barnegat Light area. Also, most public schools altered their schedules due to the wintry weather.
An 8-year-old girl in Woodbury (Gloucester County) was injured during the early afternoon hours of the 28th when the sled she was on collided with an SUV. The girl was sledding down a driveway and entered the street then went under the SUV, which was pulling away from the curb. The girl had to be extricated from the vehicle. In Woolwich Township (Gloucester County), the southbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike were blocked for about three hours during the early morning hours of the 28th after a car and a tractor-trailer collided. A female in the car was taken to a nearby hospital for serious head injuries. The State Police reported that the accident was weather related. The winter storm produced hazardous road conditions late on the 27th and on the 28th in Sussex County. A fatal crash occurred on a snow-covered Route 206 early on the 28th as a 50-year-old man was killed when his vehicle went off the roadway.
Some snowfall totals included; 4.0 inches in Lafayette (Sussex County), 3.7 inches in Blairstown (Warren County), 3.5 inches in Oak Ridge (Morris County), 3.5 inches in Whitehouse (Hunterdon County), 3.5 inches in Manalapan (Monmouth County), 3.5 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 3.4 inches in Marcella (Morris County), 3.3 inches in Oakland Mills (Monmouth County), 3.1 inches in Edison (Middlesex County), 3.1 inches in Estell Manor (Atlantic County), 3.0 inches in Somerville (Somerset County), 3.0 inches in Trenton (Mercer County), 3.0 inches in Colts Neck (Monmouth County), 2.9 inches in Pottersville (Morris County), 2.8 inches in Ewing (Mercer County), 2.8 inches in Plainsboro (Middlesex County), 2.7 inches in National Park (Gloucester County), 2.7 inches in Belvidere (Warren County), 2.7 inches in Wertsville (Hunterdon County), 2.7 inches in Branchburg (Somerset County), 2.5 inches in Riegelsville (Hunterdon County), 2.3 inches in Newport (Cumberland County), 2.1 inches in Pittsgrove (Salem County), 2.0 inches in Edgewater Park (Burlington County), 2.0 inches in Stratford (Camden County), 2.0 inches in Vineland (Cumberland County), 1.9 inches in Mount Laurel (Burlington County), 1.8 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 1.8 inches in Glassboro (Gloucester County), 1.7 inches in Mount Holly (Burlington County), 1.5 inches in Toms River (Ocean County), 1.5 inches in West Deptford (Gloucester County), 1.5 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona (Atlantic County), 1.5 inches in Hammonton (Atlantic County), 1.2 inches 0.8 of a mile north-northwest of Woodbine (Cape May County) and 1.0 inch in Tuckerton (Ocean County).
A few ice accumulation reports included; 0.15 of an inch in Edgewater Park and Southampton, and 0.10 of an inch in Mount Laurel (all in Burlington County).

Winter Storm in SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 23:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 16:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Storm in WARREN, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 23:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 16:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Storm in MORRIS, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 23:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 16:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Storm in HUNTERDON, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 23:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 16:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY
From 28-JAN-09 00:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in MERCER, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 23:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 10:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Storm in NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 07:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 07:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 06:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Storm in SALEM, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 06:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Weather in MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY
From 28-JAN-09 00:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 10:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Weather in WESTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 28-JAN-09 00:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 09:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Weather in EASTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 28-JAN-09 00:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 08:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Weather in EASTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 28-JAN-09 00:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 08:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Weather in WESTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 28-JAN-09 00:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 09:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Weather in SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 21:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 09:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Weather in WESTERN ATLANTIC, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 06:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Weather in CUMBERLAND, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 05:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 05:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Weather in WESTERN CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 05:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 05:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in EASTERN CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 05:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 03:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Winter Weather in EASTERN ATLANTIC, NEW JERSEY
From 27-JAN-09 05:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 03:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS