Why It Is So Cold Right Now in South Jersey
If you walked outside and immediately questioned your life choices, you are not imagining things. South Jersey is in the grip of a serious blast of Arctic cold, the kind that makes even longtime locals say, yeah this is rough.
Dangerous cold conditions are expected to continue through Monday morning, with wind chills well below zero making it feel downright hostile at times.
This is not just another cold snap. This one has some bite.
Why It Is So Cold Right Now in South Jersey
This Is Real Arctic Air, Not Just “Winter Cold”
What we are dealing with right now is a true Arctic air mass that pushed straight down from Canada and parked itself over the Mid Atlantic.
Once that door opened, there was nothing stopping the cold from flooding into New Jersey. When Arctic air settles in, it is denser, drier, and much colder than the kind of cold we usually see in an average winter week.
That is why this feels different. The cold is sharper. It cuts through layers faster. And it sticks around longer.
This is why that 6+ inches of snow and ice has been hanging around.
The temperatures are bad enough, but the wind is what takes this from uncomfortable to dangerous.
Across most of South Jersey this past weekend, wind chills ranged from minus 5 to minus 15 degrees. That’s why trips outside felt miserable.
Another reason this cold hits so hard is the clear sky setup.
At night, clouds usually help trap some heat near the ground. Right now, we do not have that. Heat escapes quickly, and temperatures drop fast once the sun goes down.
That is why the cold feels especially unforgiving late at night and early in the morning. It is a classic South Jersey deep freeze setup.
Why The “Warm Up” Might Be Getting Oversold
Yes, you are probably hearing that a warm up is coming. And technically, that is true.
How Long Will the Cold Last in South Jersey and When Will the Snow Finally Melt?
But it is worth pumping the brakes a little.
Earlier forecasts suggested the Arctic Oscillation would turn strongly positive, which usually helps lock cold air up in Canada. Instead, that signal has weakened and is now trending back toward neutral or even negative.
When the Arctic Oscillation goes negative, cold air has an easier time dropping south again. That tells us the larger winter pattern is still very much alive and not ready to pack it in.
This is a tough pattern to break, and right now, it does not look broken.
We will warm up some. No question about it.
Upper 40s look reasonable, and there could even be a couple days flirting with 50 degrees. After what we are dealing with now, that will feel great.
But this does not look like a full on seasonal flip. It looks more like a pause. A breather. The kind of fake spring that South Jersey winters love to tease us with.
If you think this means winter is over, history says you might want to keep the shovel nearby just in case.
Winter Is Not Done With South Jersey Yet
This is one of those winters where you cannot let your guard down.
Brief warm ups happen. Jackets get lighter for a couple days. Then the cold comes right back and catches people off guard.
The pattern we are in is stubborn, and it has a habit of reminding us that February is still very much winter around here.
So enjoy the moderation when it arrives. Just do not be surprised if South Jersey reminds you again, pretty quickly, that winter still has a few things left to say.
You can check out how the Wildwoods look during these freezing times down below in our video.
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