Yes, It Really Was That Cold: NJ’s January 2026 by the Numbers
file photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, If you feel like you’ve been living in a literal freezer, you aren’t imagining it. From the frozen mist of the Paterson Great Falls to the ice floes choking the Hudson River, North Jersey just survived one of its most brutal Januaries in recent memory.
With a massive foot of snow on the ground from the January 25 storm and a surge in water main breaks across the region, residents are asking: Just how cold was it, and when will the thaw finally arrive?
The Numbers: Just How Cold Was January?
According to the National Weather Service data for the Newark area, January 2026 was officially “below normal.” While we’ve had warmer winters recently, this year brought a sustained, biting chill that felt much more aggressive.
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Average High: 37.2°F
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Average Low: 5°F
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Overall Monthly Average: 30.1°F
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Departure from Normal: -2.7 degrees
The extreme lows were the real story, with the 5-degree average low causing the ground to contract so violently that Veolia Water reported more than a dozen major pipe bursts in a single week.
January Temperature Showdown: 2007–2026
How does this year stack up against the last two decades? While 2023 was famously mild, 2026 has returned us to the “old school” Jersey winters.
| Year | Avg Jan Temp (°F) | Year | Avg Jan Temp (°F) |
| 2026 | 30.1 | 2016 | 33.3 |
| 2025 | 31.4 | 2015 | 28.5 |
| 2024 | 37.3 | 2014 | 27.1 |
| 2023 | 44.0 | 2013 | 35.4 |
| 2022 | 28.6 | 2012 | 37.0 |
The Verdict: 2026 was significantly colder than the last three years, though it didn’t quite touch the “Polar Vortex” levels of 2014 (27.1°F) or the all-time state record of -34°F set in River Vale back in 1904.
The February Forecast: Is a Thaw Coming?
If you’re looking for a “February Spring,” don’t hold your breath. Forecasters warn that the deep freeze isn’t going anywhere “anytime soon.”
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The Bad News: Current models show temperatures staying well below normal through Valentine’s Day.
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The Good News: New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson offers a glimmer of hope. We are gaining daylight—about 45 minutes more than the winter solstice—and the sun’s angle is getting more direct.
Even if the air is cold, the “stronger” February sun will slowly start to win the battle against those 12-foot snow piles in Ridgewood and beyond.
Impacts Across the Region
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Paterson: The Great Falls became a tourist attraction as it partially froze into a massive ice sculpture.
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Commuting: Large ice chunks in the Hudson River caused major disruptions for the NYC Ferry service.
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Infrastructure: Veolia Water crews remain on high alert as the “freeze-thaw” cycle continues to stress aging pipes.
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Reminds me of that awful winter in 1978….
What’s amazing is that we’re experienced the coldest winter and years, and yet you go past our central garage location there’s a building next to the fuel pumps. And there’s a garage door open with the lights on heat on who’s paying for this? Concern taxpayer.
😳not good mr. manager, director of Dpw,
What happenned to global warming
Never mind, just another Democrat hoax
Retrograde warming
I’m struggling to believe that January 2026 had an average of 30.1, because there was more than a two week stretch where the high temperature never reached 30 (or even close to it). My back of the envelope, especially for the Ridgewood area (a bit removed from Newark) is mid- to low-20s for the month. I remember 2014, 2015, and 2022 well, and this was colder.