How much snow fell around NJ during the intense, historic Blizzard of ’26?

Storm Recap

The snow poured from the sky. The wind howled. The surf surged. And parts of New Jersey got buried under feet of snow.

The nor'easter of February 22-23, 2026 — which many (including myself) have taken to call The Blizzard of '26 — was a rare New Jersey winter storm that lived up to all the hype and hysteria that preceded its arrival. From double-digit snowfall to statewide travel bans to scanning the skies for thundersnow, this was a storm we will not soon forget.

One of the biggest snow totals recorded in the state was at the Newark Liberty International Airport weather station: 27.2 inches. This tracks as the second biggest snow storm on record for KEWR, behind only the Blizzard of '96 by 0.6 inches. (27.8 inches from January 7-8, 1996.)

That 27.2 inches is more than an entire season's worth of normal snowfall for Newark. (25.4 inches)

And now, with a total of 51.4 inches, the 2025-26 winter season is the snowiest since 2013-14.

What a storm. What a winter.

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Dan's Blizzard Forecast Report Card

The blizzard posed some tremendous forecasting challenges. Coastal storms such as this one are extremely sensitive to the exact track of the storm — any "wiggle" in the track or any variation in the size or strength or temperature profile of the storm can have dramatic effects in how much snow falls.

Most forecast models did have a good handle on this storm until about 48 hours before arrival. (Special shout-out and mad props to the GFS model for nailing this one five days in advance.) That made it especially difficult to get a confident handle on the magnitude of the storm, and made it a challenge to plan for and communicate the potential dangers. Especially given its prime impacts over the weekend.

I think it is important to evaluate my forecast performance after every storm, for full transparency and accountability. And to learn from any mistakes and missteps to do better in the future.

In this case, my final forecast issued early Sunday morning offered five main bullet points:

✅ Timing: Storm begins midday Sunday, peaks Sunday night, and wraps up eventually Monday afternoon. I think the timeline played out pretty closely to expectations. The rain may have been a little more pervasive and longer-lasting than I thought, but once the changeover to snow happened it really didn't matter.

✅ General snow totals: About a foot or two for most of New Jersey. Although my specific snow map and numbers were not quite perfect, this particular and very specific statement I made was 100% accurate.

⛔ Geography of snow bullseye: The Jersey Shore. Yes, coastal counties got buried. But northeastern and inland areas got too, by a narrow 4"/hour snow band that formed overnight that I had not accounted for. There is no question that the middle of the state overperformed my forecast by quite a bit — but if that narrow band hadn't sat in one spot for hours on end, my forecast would have been dead on accurate.

✅ Top wind gusts: 40 mph inland, 60 mph coast. Inland gusts were a bit lower, but coastal gusts were right on the money. And power outages were just as significant an issue as we feared, unfortunately.

⛔ Coastal flooding: One round of moderate to spotty major flooding Sunday night. There were some pockets of tidal flooding, and technically we hit moderate flood stage in most spots. But water inundation issues were negligible compared to the snow and wind impacts. I feel like I'm often overestimating storm surge and tidal flooding effects, and that's something I need to work on.

(Keep scrolling to see a county-by-county analysis of my snowfall forecast performance alongside the snow reports.)

About Snow Total Reports

I compile and list snowfall totals a bit differently than other media organizations, as I only report high-quality, verifiable, complete observations. Not every single number I can find on the internet.

This data comes from several trusted sources, including the National Weather Service, CoCoRaHS (The Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network), and the NJ State Climate Office. In time, climatologists will fully quality-control and combine these snow reports into a color-contoured map that memorializes a full summary of this historic storm.

For now, I have collected a sampling of the hundreds and hundreds of snowfall reports from around the state. I attempted to grab a "top ten" of high-quality observations from each county. (Note: Some counties do not have as many observers available as others.) Reports marked as "public" sourced are excluded, as are any that I deem as suspect or incomplete in my expert opinion. That does mean I have disqualified some of the biggest ~30" snow reports that you may have seen reported in other media.

Note: These numbers represent only a sampling of snowfall measurements around New Jersey. This was a tough storm to measure, especially due to drifting and the deep nature of the snowpack. You may have gotten more or less in your backyard — and that's OK!

SELECTED SNOW TOTALS: THE BLIZZARD OF '26

Atlantic County

19.0 inches — Mays Landing
17.0 inches — Buena (Minotola)
16.9 inches — Egg Harbor Township (Atlantic City International Airport)
16.9 inches — Linwood
16.5 inches — Buena Vista Township
16.0 inches — Somers Point
15.0 inches — Hammontown
14.6 inches — Galloway
12.7 inches — Estell Manor
12.5 inches — Brigantine
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches west of Mays Landing, 18 to 24 inches closer to the coast
How'd I Do? — Pretty good, even though the higher totals near the coast did not play out

Bergen County

26.0 inches — Fort Lee
24.0 inches — River Edge
23.8 inches — BergenField
23.4 inches — Tenafly
21.8 inches — Palisades Park
20.0 inches — Lyndhurst
18.0 inches — Westwood
17.9 inches — Wallington
17.5 inches — Little Ferry
17.0 inches — Fair Lawn
My Final Forecast — About a foot (12 inches)
How'd I Do? — Way too low

Burlington County

21.0 inches — Leisuretowne
20.8 inches — Mount Laurel
20.5 inches — Columbus
20.3 inches — Lumberton (South Jersey Regional Airport)
20.3 inches — Westampton (Mount Holly National Weather Service office)
19.5 inches — Mount Laurel
19.5 inches — Moorestown
19.2 inches — Willingboro
19.2 inches — Medford (Lake Pine)
19.0 inches — Mansfield
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches, totals could be higher (closer to 24 inches) to the southeast near the coast
How'd I Do? — Way too low for most

Camden County

17.0 inches — Lindenworld
16.8 inches — Barrington
15.7 inches — Cherry Hill
15.0 inches — Haddon Heights
15.0 inches — Mt. Ephraim
14.0 inches — Pennsauken
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches
How'd I Do? — Spot on!

Cape May County

18.0 inches — Woodbine
17.0 inches — Lower Township
16.0 inches — Ocean City
12.0 inches — Middle Township
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches
How'd I Do? — Spot on!

Cumberland County

17.0 inches — Millville
16.1 inches — Bridgeton
16.0 inches — Newport
13.0 inches — Upper Deerfield
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches
How'd I Do? — Spot on!

Essex County

26.0 inches — Orange
19.0 inches — Montclair
19.0 inches — West Orange
17.5 inches — Maplewood Twp
17.0 inches — Bloomfield
17.0 inches — North Caldwell
16.0 inches — Millburn
14.2 inches — Verona
12.3 inches — West Caldwell
12.0 inches — Nutley
My Final Forecast — About a foot (12 inches)
How'd I Do? — Not bad for the western half of the county, but eastern Essex County had much bigger totals than expected

Gloucester County

21.5 inches — Pitman
19.0 inches — Monroe
18.0 inches — West Deptford
17.0 inches — Franklin
17.0 inches — Glassboro
16.0 inches — Washington
15.0 inches — Clayton
14.8 inches — Wenonah
14.0 inches — East Greenwich
10.3 inches — Williamstown
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches
How'd I Do? — Very good!

Hudson County

23.0 inches — Jersey City
20.5 inches — Hoboken
19.0 inches — Kearny
18.0 inches — Harrison
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches
How'd I Do? — Too low

Hunterdon County

11.0 inches — Flemington
10.4 inches — Readington (Three Bridges)
9.3 inches — Raritan Township (Cloverhill)
8.8 inches — Califon
8.6 inches — Stanton
7.0 inches — Clinton
7.0 inches — Lebanon
6.9 inches — Holland
6.9 inches — Frenchtown
5.8 inches — Whitehouse Station
My Final Forecast — 8 to 12 inches
How'd I Do? — Not bad. I consider it a win that I caught the low spot to the northwest

Mercer County

19.3 inches — Robbinsville
17.5 inches — Princeton
17.5 inches — East Windsor
17.0 inches — Lawrence
16.5 inches — Mercilleville
16.4 inches — Ewing (Trenton-Mercer Airport)
16.2 inches — Pennington
16.0 inches — Hopewell Township
16.0 inches — West Windsor
15.0 inches — Woodsville
My Final Forecast — About a foot (12 inches)
How'd I Do? — Too low

Middlesex County

24.0 inches — Matawan
23.0 inches — Hopelawn
22.0 inches — Monroe (Concordia)
22.0 inches — Iselin
21.3 inches — Woodbridge
21.0 inches — Sayreville
21.0 inches — Parlin
18.1 inches — North Brunswick
17.8 inches — Edison
17.6 inches — East Brunswick
My Final Forecast — About a foot (12 inches)
How'd I Do? — Too low

Monmouth County

26.5 inches — Aberdeen (Strathmore)
26.0 inches — Manalapan
25.0 inches — Freehold
24.5 inches — Howell
24.1 inches — Colts Neck
20.5 inches — Holmdel (Centerville)
19.0 inches — Middletown
18.0 inches — Ocean Township
18.0 inches — Kenport
17.5 inches — Upper Freehold
My Final Forecast — 18 to 24+ inches for most, slightly less west of the Route 9 corridor
How'd I Do? — The 18 to 24+ prediction worked out nicely, although the coast was actually the low spot in the county. Even so, I'll call this one a win.

Morris County

20.0 inches — Chatham
18.1 inches — Green Pond
16.8 inches — Madison
16.3 inches — Randolph
15.5 inches — Mine Hill Township
15.2 inches — Millington
14.5 inches — Denville
14.4 inches — Rockaway
14.0 inches — Butler
13.7 inches — Long HIll Township
My Final Forecast — 8 to 12 inches
How'd I Do? — Another half and half situation. Western Morris was good, eastern Morris notably too low.

Ocean County

25.2 inches — Jackson
22.0 inches — Manchester
21.8 inches — Lakehurst
20.3 inches — Berkeley
20.0 inches — Lacey
19.0 inches — Manahawkin
18.5 inches — Brick
18.0 inches — Barnegat
18.0 inches — Ship Bottom
14.7 inches — Point Pleasant Beach
My Final Forecast — 18 to 24+ inches
How'd I Do? — Spot on!

Passaic County

16.4 inches — Little Falls
15.5 inches — Hawthorne
14.1 inches — Wayne
14.1 inches — West Milford
14.0 inches — Passaic
10.0 inches — Pompton Lakes
My Final Forecast — 10 to 12 inches
How'd I Do? — A bit too low

Salem County

18.0 inches — Monroeville
16.0 inches — Olivet
11.5 inches — Upper Pittsgrove Township
11.0 inches — Salem
My Final Forecast — 12 to 18 inches
How'd I Do? — Spot on!

Somerset County

18.5 inches — Green Grook
18.0 inches — Watchung
18.0 inches — Franklin (Middlebush)
17.6 inches — Hillsborough
16.7 inches — Manville
16.0 inches — Belle Mead
16.0 inches — North Plainfield
14.5 inches — Basking RIdge
14.1 inches — Bernards Township
14.0 inches — Bridgewater
My Final Forecast — 10 to 12 inches
How'd I Do? — Too low

Sussex County

13.4 inches — Vernon
13.2 inches — Highlands Lakes
11.3 inches — Sparta
11.0 inches — Stanhope
11.0 inches — Stockholm
9.7 inches — Hardyston
8.1 inches — Wantage
6.0 inches — Newton
4.8 inches — Montague
4.5 inches — High Point
My Final Forecast — 8 to 12 inches
How'd I Do? — Very close, despite lots of variety from one end of the county to the other

Union County

27.2 inches — Elizabeth (Newark Liberty International Airport)
21.0 inches — Cranford
19.5 inches — Scotch Plains
18.5 inches — Clark
15.0 inches — New Providence
14.0 inches — Westfield
My Final Forecast — About a foot (12 inches)
How'd I Do? — Too low

Warren County

9.2 inches — Hackettstown
7.8 inches — Pohatcong (Riegelsville)
7.8 inches — Holland Township
7.0 inches — Harmony Township
6.0 inches — Greenwich Township
6.0 inches — Washington Township
6.0 inches — Stewartsville
5.7 inches — Manfield
5.4 inches — Blairstown
5.0 inches — Frelinghuysen
My Final Forecast — 8 to 12 inches
How'd I Do? — A bit high, although it was close - my previous forecasts here went as low as 6" and 4" and would have been perfect

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Check out Dan's weather blog or follow him on Facebook for your latest weather forecast updates.