A complex winter storm that buried Long Island and southern New England under heavy snow and blizzard conditions spared most of New Jersey. The state was too far west to remain under heavier wrap-around snow for a prolonged period of time and the state was not affected much by a clipper low pressure system that preceded it from the west. Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties received the brunt of the heavy snow as snowfall reached 5 to 12 inches in those counties. Snowfall in Northwest New Jersey averaged 3 to 6 inches while snowfall in the southern half of the state (except in Ocean County) averaged 1 to 5 inches. A state of emergency was declared and a driving ban was enacted. Because of this, the total number of reported accidents and incidents was less than 100.  The onshore flow did cause minor tidal flooding during the high tide cycle during the pre-dawn hours on the 27th as well as some beach erosion.
Snow began falling during the early morning on the 26th. In the southern half of the state, precipitation actually started as rain the evening before. While it snowed most of the day on the 26th, there were times where it briefly stopped or the intensity was very light. The snow fell at its steadiest and heaviest as bands backed into the state during the early and mid morning on the 27th. The snow ended late in the morning on the 27th in the southern third of the state and during the early afternoon of the 27th elsewhere.
In anticipation of a greater impact to the state, a state of emergency was declared by Governor Chris Christie. This authorizes the New Jersey director of emergency management to activate and coordinate the preparation, response and recovery efforts from the storm with all of the county and municipal emergency operations and government agencies. On the 26th, staggered dismissal of state employees began. Many schools dismissed early. Local government and school administrators cancelled public meetings. Social activities and after school activities were also cancelled. Speed reductions were in place on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.
A total travel ban went into effect at 11 p.m. EST on the 26th. All service was also suspended on New Jersey Commuter trains and bus lines late that evening. As the storm's impact on the state was less than expected, the travel ban was lifted at 730 a.m. EST on the 27th. A modified New Jersey Transit train schedule started that afternoon and bus lines started to roll also. Cross honoring of transit tickets occurred through the 28th. On the 28th, full transit service was restored. Ferries implemented modified schedules as did Amtrak.
Representative snowfall included 12.0 inches in Manasquan (Monmouth County), 10.0 inches in Brick Township (Ocean County), 9.2 inches in Lincroft (Monmouth County), 9.0 inches in Long Branch (Monmouth County), 9.3 inches in Lavallette (Ocean County), 8.0 inches in East Brunswick (Middlesex County) and Berkeley Heights (Ocean County), 7.0 inches in South Brunswick (Middlesex County) and Franklin Township (Somerset County), 6.7 inches in Freehold (Monmouth County), 6.4 inches in South River (Middlesex County), 5.0 inches in White House Station (Hunterdon County), Hillsborough Township (Somerset County), Madison (Morris County) and Washington Crossing (Mercer County), 4.5 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 4.4 inches in Ewing (Mercer County), 4.0 inches in Lebanon (Hunterdon County), Hope (Warren County) and Sparta (Sussex County),  3.9 inches in Folsom (Atlantic County) and Mount Laurel (Burlington County), 3.8 inches in Marcella (Morris County), 3.6 inches in Montgomery Township (Somerset County) and Hackettstown (Warren County), 3.4 inches in Southampton (Burlington County), 3.3 inches in Princeton (Mercer County), 3.1 inches in Tabernacle (Burlington County) and Somerdale (Camden County), 2.7 inches in Williamstown (Glocuester County), 2.6 inches in Lindenwold (Camden County), 2.4 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 2.2 inches in Washington Township (Gloucester County), 2.0 inches in Pittsgrove (Salem County), 1.9 inches in Estell Manor (Atlantic County),1.0 inch at the Atlantic City International Airport and Beesleys Point (Cape May County) and 0.9 inches in Upper Deerfield (Cumberland County).
The onshore flow around the storm system also caused minor tidal flooding during the early morning high tide cycle on the 27th. While a couple of locations also reached minor tidal flooding thresholds with the afternoon high tide cycle, all of the highest tides with this event occurred in the morning.  Highest tides included 7.17 feet above mean lower low water at Sandy Hook (Monmouth County). The minor tidal flooding threshold is 6.70 feet above mean lower low water. The highest tide at Atlantic City (Atlantic County) was 6.56 feet above mean lower low water. The minor tidal flooding threshold is 6.00 feet above mean lower low water. The highest tide at the Cape May Ferry Terminal (Cape May County) was 7.05 feet above mean lower low water. The minor tidal flooding threshold is 6.70 feet above mean lower low water. Along the tidal Watson Creek at Manasquan (Monmouth County), minor flooding occurred as the creek was above its 5.5 foot flood stage from Midnight EST through 246 a.m. EST on the 27th.  It crested at 6.01 feet at 124 a.m. EST.
All of the following gage sites experienced minor tidal flooding. We are collaborating with municipalities to fine tune threshold heights for other categories of coastal flooding. Once they are made official, we will begin categorizing the type of coastal flooding at these sites. Highest tides included 7.51 feet above mean lower low water at South Amboy (Middlesex County), 7.52 feet above mean lower low water at Keansburg (Monmouth County), 6.17 feet above mean lower low water at Sea Bright (Monmouth County), 6.87 feet above mean lower at Belmar (Monmouth County), 3.17 feet above mean lower low water at Ship Bottom (Ocean County), 5.42 feet above mean lower low water at Tuckerton (Ocean County), 6.11 feet above mean lower low water at Absecon (Atlantic County), 6.12 feet above mean lower low water in Ocean City (Cape May County), 6.22 feet above mean lower low water in Avalon (Cape May County), 6.66 feet above mean lower low water at Stone Harbor (Cape May County) and 6.53 feet above mean lower low water in Cape May Harbor (Cape May County).

The first low pressure system formed in Saskatchewan Province on the 24th. It proceeded to move southeast and passed through Iowa early on the 25th. It reached the lower Ohio Valley on the evening of the 25th as an arctic cold front was starting to move south through Delaware. The low pressure system reached West Virginia on the morning of the 26th as a secondary low pressure system was forming on the North Carolina coast.  At 1 p.m. EST on the 26th, double barrel low pressure systems existed with the original still over West Virgina and an already stronger secondary (998 millibars) east of the Virginia coast. The former low pressure system moved into western Pennsylvania that evening while the latter low pressure system was already about 150 miles east of the Delmarva Peninsula. Later that evening the original low pressure system dissipated while the secondary low pressure system took a turn more to the north and started to intensify rapidly. At 7 a.m. EST on the 27th, that low pressure system had deepened to 975 millibars and was located southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. From there, the low pressure system started to slowly weaken as it drifted off to the northeast. While heavier snow did back into New Jersey overnight on the 26th, the offshore track spared most of the state and spared all of the state from the heaviest snow and blizzard conditions.  It was estimated that the storm caused 500 million to 1.25 billion dollars in unrecoverable lost productivity and economic activity in the Northeast.

Heavy Snow in MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 03:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 13:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in WESTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 04:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 13:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in EASTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 06:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 14:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in WESTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 04:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 12:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow in EASTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 06:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 13:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Weather in SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 05:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 14:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in MORRIS, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 04:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in WARREN, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 03:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 03:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 12:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in HUNTERDON, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 01:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in MERCER, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 02:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 13:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Weather in NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 02:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 13:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Employee

Winter Weather in SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 03:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 01:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Weather in GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 01:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Weather in SALEM, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 01:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 10:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in CUMBERLAND, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 05:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Winter Weather in WESTERN CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 05:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Weather in EASTERN CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 05:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winter Weather in EASTERN ATLANTIC, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 05:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Winter Weather in WESTERN ATLANTIC, NEW JERSEY
From 26-JAN-15 04:00:00 to 27-JAN-15 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter