New Jersey extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 21 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 663 extreme cold records in New Jersey from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 37 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 28, 2005 cold/wind chill in Morris County: 4 deaths across 2 records. New Jersey ranks 29th of 51 states and territories by count and 2nd of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in New Jersey, 1996 to 2026
Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 6631996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 37average
- Deaths
- 128 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $311Kas filed
- Busiest year
- 2007132 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are extreme cold records common in New Jersey?
New Jersey averages about 37 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 29th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2007 (132). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Jersey records 901 extreme cold records since 1996, 2nd of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New Jersey have the most extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Camden County leads New Jersey: 30 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 135.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Ocean County has the most cold records (59 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the cold season in New Jersey?
74% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (302 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 302 · Feb 187 · Mar 21 · Apr 29 · May 44 · Jun 0 · Jul 40 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 40 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in New Jersey?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-01-28 | Cold/Wind ChillMorris County · forecast zone Morris One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. The combination of light winds courtesy of being located under a large high pressure system and snow cover produced for many locations one of the coldest mornings of the winter season in New Jersey. Low temperatures were mainly around zero, but some lows in the northwest part of the state were colder than 10 degrees ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2007-02-06 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCamden County · forecast zone Camden One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An arctic air mass that originated near the North Pole invaded New Jersey. The combination of the unseasonably cold air and gusty northwest winds produced wind chill factors as low as zero to around 10 degrees below zero during the mornings of the 5th and 6th. The extreme cold caused the death of two people. A ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2003-01-14 | Cold/Wind ChillMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A cold frontal passage on the 13th initiated about a two week run of unseasonably cold weather, even by January standards across New Jersey. There was one cold related death and a few others that were indirectly caused by the cold weather. There were several cases of either frostbite or hypothermia throughout the ... | 1 | 7 | – | |
| 2015-02-24 | Cold/Wind ChillMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex The high pressure system responsible for third and last arctic blast of the month of February arrived in New Jersey on the morning of the 24th. Unlike the two previous arctic outbreaks earlier this month, this one was not accompanied by strong winds during the first half of the day. Air and wind chill temperatures ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-02-15 | Cold/Wind ChillOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean The combination of strong to high winds and an approaching arctic air mass produced wind chill factors of 10 to 15 degrees below zero during the first half of the day on the 15th in New Jersey. One person in Ocean County died from hypothermia. Actual morning low temperatures were around 10 degrees above zero. In ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-02-13 | Cold/Wind ChillBurlington County · forecast zone Northwestern Burlington Northwest winds that persisted into the morning of the 13th combined with an arctic air mass to produce wind chill factors of around 10 degrees below zero and low temperatures in the positive single numbers throughout most of New Jersey and claimed the life of one homeless man in Burlington County. The lowest hourly ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2018-01-04 | Cold/Wind ChillCumberland County · forecast zone Cumberland A man was found dead from exposure to the cold. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2004-01-25 | Cold/Wind ChillMorris County · forecast zone Morris An elderly woman in Long Hill Township froze to death after she slipped on ice in her backyard and fell into a basement window well. Her body was found on the 26th. The overnight low temperature on the 25th in Long Valley (Morris County) was zero. | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in New Jersey?
New Jersey's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New Jersey | United States | New Jersey's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 76 | 5,539 | 1.4% |
| 2000s | 366 | 14,792 | 2.5% |
| 2010s | 201 | 18,162 | 1.1% |
| 2020-26 | 20 | 15,329 | 0.1% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in New Jersey
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-01-04 | Cold/Wind ChillCumberland County · forecast zone Cumberland | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-02-24 | Cold/Wind ChillMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-02-15 | Cold/Wind ChillOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-02-13 | Cold/Wind ChillBurlington County · forecast zone Northwestern Burlington | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2013-01-23 | Cold/Wind ChillMonmouth County · forecast zone Eastern Monmouth | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2007-02-06 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillWarren County · forecast zone Warren | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2007-02-06 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCamden County · forecast zone Camden | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2005-01-28 | Cold/Wind ChillSussex County · forecast zone Sussex | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2005-01-28 | Cold/Wind ChillMorris County · forecast zone Morris | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2004-01-25 | Cold/Wind ChillMorris County · forecast zone Morris | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2003-01-14 | Cold/Wind ChillMonmouth County · forecast zone Western Monmouth | 0 | 6 | – | |
| 2003-01-14 | Cold/Wind ChillMiddlesex County · forecast zone Middlesex | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Next
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