New Jersey’s top 10 weather and climate stories of 2025

Happy New Year, New Jersey! Now that the holidays are over, the Auld Lang Syne has been sung, and we are all back to work and school, it is time to close the record books on 2025.

Overall, 2025 will not go down in the history books as an "extreme" or "record-breaking" year for the Garden State. Of course, there was definitely variety and volatility in New Jersey's weather last year, from heat to cold, from drought to deluges, from blizzards to bright sunshine. With plenty of big storms along the way.

I do this countdown style list every year, highlighting and recapping some of the most memorable, significant weather happenings of the year. I'm not just looking at "storms" per se. These are headlines and forecasts that captured our attention — the weather and climate related things that will be remembered well into the future.

Here is a recap of my annual #1 picks since I started this list at the end of 2015:

2024... Drought
2023... Smoke
2022... Ian
2021... Ida
2020... July, NJ's Hottest Month Ever
2019... 9 Tornadoes
2018... Wet, wet, wet, wet, wet
2017... Solar Eclipse Mania
2016... 30" of Snow, January Blizzard
2015... Spring in December

For the record, I do not limit myself to a "top ten" — it just so happens that I pinpointed ten milestones for this year's countdown. Obviously, the final list is totally subjective — inclusion and ranking are based on how impactful, newsworthy, memorable, and/or widespread an individual event was for all/part of New Jersey, in my professional opinion.

So let's dive in! How many of these 2025 weather and climate events do you remember, and/or affected you personally? Do you agree with my list? Am I missing something? What do you think will top the 2026 countdown?

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.