Snowfall Totals in New Jersey Near Record Levels

The snowfall totals in New Jersey haven't set records for about a century. But the snowfall totals in New Jersey this weekend may have better lucky. Cities like Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore have been hit really hard in this new winter storm. However, the state of New Jersey has snowfall totals that are especially unusual for them. In fact, they may be the biggest to hit in almost 100 years, according to early estimates.

Now that the snowfall has largely stopped on the East Coast, the big question - other than how to dig out of it - is how much came down. The totals range from a foot to over 20 inches in some areas, and even over two feet in some parts.

For New Jersey, their biggest snowfall total ever was 21 inches, at almost exactly a century ago. The National Weather Service says that blizzard fell on December 27, 1909. On December 19, 2009, the state was blanketed by almost the same amount. In many New Jersey areas, the total is different, but the largest appears to have fallen in the suburb of Medford.

According to the Associated Press, Medford got hit with exactly two feet of snow yesterday. That is just shy of the highest totals in the Northeast, behind Upton, Rhode Island's 25 inches. By contrast, the 16 inches in southern New England and at Washington's Dulles Airport look almost modest.

The Press claims that the snowfall in southern New Jersey is at least the highest in four years. It's a similar aftermath through much of the Northeast, as it starts digging out of its biggest winter storm in years.

With delays and cancellations still prevalent, and the roads still a mess, its going to be a busy Sunday trying to clean things up, before the rush back to work on Monday. Fortunately, the work week won't be too long, since Christmas time is here. However, the hope is that the snow will recede before the holiday traffic and travel rush.

The snowfall totals have already caused five deaths due to exposure and traffic accidents. They happened in Virginia and Ohio, but any state hit by this storm has the same risks. Even if the New Jersey snowfall totals aren't record setting, the state shares the same fate as all their Northeast neighbors. There may not be a state of emergency anymore, but countless states have to shovel their way through without any more chaos, starting today.

Sources

Associated Press- "Snow storm hits southern New England"

The Star-Ledger- "N.J. weather forecast: Major snow storm could break century-old record"