Meteorologists consider winter to stretch from December 1st to February 29th, inclusive. This is done primarily to make calculations of parameters simpler and more consistent (as the first day of each season can vary slightly, resulting in difficulties comparing seasonal averages). Typically, the coldest month of the winter is January, followed by February and finally December, and that was the case for the winter of 2024. Meteorological winter represents the coldest part of the year, yet most winters have at least a couple of days with high temperatures in the 60s.
Rainfall
During most winters, temperatures generally generate the most headlines, whether for bone-chilling cold or unseasonable warmth. However, the meteorological winter of 2024 (comprised of December 2023, January 2024 and February 2024, and hereafter referred to as winter) was notable because of the amount of precipitation that fell during the period (since snowfall is NOT measured at our station, we estimate the liquid equivalent of the snow that fell and add it to the database). During the three month period, we recorded 15.99 inches of rain, which was a record for this location (rainfall records extend back to 1989, and encompass 31 winters).
Near record rainfall amounts in both December 2024 and January 2024 (during which more than 7 inches rain fell in back to back months, the first time that has occurred at our station) brought the seasonal rainfall total to near record amounts. Even a normal rainfall during February would have cinched a record wettest winter, but for more than three weeks during the month, it appeared as though we might instead threaten the record for the driest February ever. Several light to moderate rainfall events finally pushed the winter rainfall total above the previous record.
Not surprisingly, there were four daily rainfall records set during the winter, with two set in December 2023 and two set in January 2024. There were no daily rainfall records set in February 2024, but given the relative paucity of rainfall during the month, that is not surprising either. As mentioned earlier, we do not measure snowfall at our location (for logistical reasons), but Toms River and other Jersey Shore locations received their first measurable snow during January 2024, nearly two years since the previous measurable snowfall in late January 2022.
Temperature
Winter 2024 began warm in the Bellcrest section of Toms River, NJ, as December 2023 was a whopping 5 degrees warmer than normal, making it the 5th warmest December on record for the location (temperatures records extend back to 1978). The coldest low temperature for the month was 27 degrees, which is much warmer than expected, especially as the end of the month approaches.
Though January 2024 was also warmer than normal (about 4 degrees above normal), it was not nearly as warm as December 2023. Both the beginning and end of the month featured much warmer than normal temperatures, but there was a period between January 15th and January 22nd when temperatures averaged as cold as 10 degrees below normal, putting a chill into an otherwise warm month. Colder temperatures in January 2024 also took the Winter of 2024 out of the running for the warmest winter on record (which occurred in 1998).
February 2024 started very warm (continuing the warm end to January 2024), and through the first half of the month, it appeared as though February might be in line to the be warmest February at this location. However, starting around St Valentine’s Day, the weather turned colder, lasting through just about the end of the extended month. This period marked the consistently coldest part of winter, something that might be expected during mid to late January.
Figure 1 shows the daily average temperature departure from normal for Winter 2024 in the Bellcrest section of Toms River, NJ. Perhaps the most striking features in this image are the impressive periods of warmer than normal temperatures (marked in red). They greatly outnumber the cooler periods (marked in blue), underlining just how warm the winter has been along the Jersey Shore.
Thunderstorms
Our Tempest Weather Station has an onboard lightning detector, which allows us to log lightning activity within 25 miles of the sensor. For our purposes, a thunderstorm day happens when lightning is detected within five miles of the station. Despite the warmer temperatures this Winter, our station did not log any thunderstorm days. In fact, our sensor has not detected a storm within five miles of the station since September 23rd, 2023.
Is it unusual for February to have thunderstorms? Unfortunately, we do not have a comprehensive source that tells us about the frequency of thunderstorms during the year. We did log a single thunderstorm day on February 21st, 2023, so obviously they can occur during the winter months. We are excited at the prospect to use the output from the lightning sensor to build our own thunderstorm climatology, but thus far the data sample has been far too small to draw any conclusions.
NJ Weather Info 
Leave a comment