A major winter storm brought heavy snow and sleet to northwest New Jersey and a wintry mix which included a significant accumulation of ice to the central third of New Jersey.  Snowfall reached one foot in Sussex County and ice accumulations were as high as half an inch. The snow that was still on the trees from the just concluded winter storm was a major contributing factor to the power outages. The weight of the snow, then sleet and freezing rain on limbs all collaborated to cause more tree damage then would have occurred if trees were bare at the start of the event.  It was the worst ice related outages in the Public Service Electric and Gas's service area since 1999.  Governor Chris Christie declared a State of Emergency and all New Jersey State offices were closed on the 5th for all non-essential workers. Except in the southeast part of the state, schools were closed. Rutgers University was closed also. New Jersey State Police responded statewide to about 170 accidents and around 180 calls for assistance from disabled motorists.
In the southern half of the state, precipitation started as sleet during the late evening on the 4th. In the southeast part of the state, precipitation changed to plain rain. But in inland Monmouth and in Mercer County and the Philadelphia eastern suburbs, precipitation changed quickly over to freezing rain within about an hour of the start. Precipitation then changed to plain rain from south to north between 4 a.m. EST and 9 a.m. EST on the 5th. The rain ended that afternoon. In the Raritan Valley and northwest New Jersey, precipitation started as snow right around Midnight EST on the 5th. The snow fell heavy at times before sunrise in northwest New Jersey. Precipitation then changed to sleet from south to north between 3 a.m. EST and 8 a.m. EST on the 5th. In the Raritan Valley, the precipitation changed quickly to freezing rain and then to plain rain around 9 a.m. EST on the 5th.  In northwest New Jersey, the sleet continued for a couple of hours and the transition to freezing rain occurred during the second half of the morning. A change to plain rain occurred during the early afternoon (except for parts of Sussex County) and the accumulating precipitation ended around 3 p.m. EST on the 5th.  A very light wintry mix then occurred in northwest New Jersey during the early evening of the 5th.
Public Service Electric and Gas reported about 110,000 of its customers lost power with Mercer, Burlington and Middlesex Counties most affected. Power was fully restored late in the day on the 7th. Jersey Central Power and Light reported about 44,000 of its customers lost power with Middlesex and Monmouth Counties most affected.  Power was fully restored on the afternoon of the 6th. One of the hardest hit municipalities with outages was Lambertville as 40 percent of the city lost power.  Atlantic City Electric reported about 2,000 of its customers lost power. Restoration assistance came from as far away as Canada.  The ice caused considerable traveling problems for all modes of transportation. The speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike was reduced to 35 mph. Northeast Corridor rail service was suspended between Trenton and New York City. Train service was also suspended on the North Jersey Coastal Line. New Jersey Transit went on a storm schedule and cross honored train and bus tickets. Bus delays averaged one hour.
Some major roadway lane or complete closures due to downed trees included New Jersey State Routes 68 and 70 in Springfield and Pemberton Townships respectively and U.S. Route 130 in Burlington Township all in Burlington County and Eastbound Interstate 195 in Hamilton Township and New Jersey State Route 29 in Hopewell Township in Mercer County. A major accident with injuries occurred on Interstate 676 in Camden (Camden County).  In Somerset County, a volunteer firefighter was injured when the truck he was in skidded on ice into a tree in Raritan Township.
Even when the precipitation changed to rain, the problems did not end. Snow and ice clogged catch basins caused poor drainage roadway flooding. In Middlesex County, the U.S. Routes 1 and 9 corridor in Woodbridge and in Mercer County, New Jersey State Route 31 in Hopewell Township were most affected. An elderly couple had to be rescued from their flooded car on U.S. Route 9 in Woodbridge.

Representative snowfall and sleet accumulations included 11.0 inches in Wantage and Montague Townships (Sussex County), 8.0 inches in Highland Lakes (Sussex County),  6.0 inches in Blairstown (Warren County) and Randolph (Morris County), 5.2 inches in Butler (Morris County), 5.0 inches in Marcella (Morris County),  4.4 inches in Parsippany (Morris County), 4.0 inches in Bernards Township (Somerset County), 3.8 inches in Bethlehem Township (Hunterdon County),  3.6 inches in Hackettstown (Warren County), 3.5 inches in Tewksbury Township (Hunterdon County), 3.0 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 2.7 inches in Bridgewater (Somerset County), 2.2 inches in Woodbridge (Middlesex County), 2.0 inches in Iselin (Middlesex County) and Montgomery Township (Somerset County) and 0.8 inches in Pennington (Mercer County).
Representative ice accumulations included 0.50 inches in Tewksbury Township (Hunterdon County) and Metuchen (Middlesex County), 0.40 inches in Florence (Burlington County) and Rockaway (Morris County), 0.30 inches in Ewing (Mercer County) and Bridgewater (Somerset County), 0.25 inches in Washington Township (Gloucester County), Princeton (Mercer County) and Monroe Township (Middlesex County) and 0.12 inches in Glassboro (Gloucester County).
The winter storm was caused by a low pressure system that formed in the western Gulf of Mexico on the morning of the 4th and a surface high pressure system that passed over the region and helped initially lock in cold air near the surface. This low pressure system moved northeast and reached Mississippi during the early evening of the 4th and the Tennessee River Valley around Midnight EST on the 5th. About the same time, a secondary low pressure system was forming on the primary low's warm front off the North Carolina Coast. Both low pressure systems in tandem proceeded to move northeast and at 7 a.m. EST on the 5th, the primary low pressure system was over southeast Ohio with the secondary low pressure system off the Delaware Coast. As is typically the case, the primary low pressure system weakened and reached western Pennsylvania during the early afternoon on the 5th while the now stronger secondary low pressure system was just off of Long Beach Island on the New Jersey coast. This secondary low pressure system intensified as it rapidly moved northeast and was southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts at 4 p.m. EST on the 5th. What was left of the primary low pressure system trundled across Eastern Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey during the late afternoon and early evening of the 5th.

Winter Storm in SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in MORRIS, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in WARREN, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in HUNTERDON, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 10:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Storm in MERCER, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 09:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Ice Storm in WESTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Reported by: Public

Ice Storm in NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 04-FEB-14 23:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 07:00:00 (EST-5)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Ice Storm in CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
From 04-FEB-14 23:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Winter Weather in SALEM, NEW JERSEY
From 04-FEB-14 23:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 05:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Weather in SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 04-FEB-14 23:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Weather in WESTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 04-FEB-14 23:30:00 to 05-FEB-14 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Winter Weather in GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY
From 04-FEB-14 23:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 05:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Weather in EASTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 05-FEB-14 00:00:00 to 05-FEB-14 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet