The Sussex County Snow Belt is a microclimate

Microclimate

A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...

 snowbelt

Snowbelt

Snowbelt is a term describing of a number of regions near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off the eastern and southern shores...

 region in Sussex County, New Jersey

Sussex County, New Jersey

The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...

 in northwest New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. The belt is part of New Jersey's Northern Climate Zone, which receives about forty to fifty inches of snow per year. The snow belt generally receives more snow than the rest of Northern New Jersey and the Northern Climate Zone because of slight orographic lift

Orographic lift

Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions,...

 of the Kittatinny Ridge

Kittatinny Mountains

The Kittatinny Mountains are a long ridge traversing across northwestern New Jersey running in a northeast-southwest axis. It is the first major ridge in the far northeastern extension of the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian Mountains...

, which increases humidity and precipitation. The snow belt is in an area of Great Valley

Great Appalachian Valley

The Great Valley, also called the Great Appalachian Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough — a chain of valley lowlands — and the central feature of the Appalachian Mountain system...

 in Sussex County, east of the Kittatinny Ridge

Kittatinny Mountains

The Kittatinny Mountains are a long ridge traversing across northwestern New Jersey running in a northeast-southwest axis. It is the first major ridge in the far northeastern extension of the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian Mountains...

 roughly from Newton

Newton, New Jersey

Newton is a town in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 8,244. It is the county seat of Sussex County....

 to Vernon

Vernon Township, New Jersey

-Communities and neighborhoods:Communities and neighborhoods in Vernon Township include the following sections:*Vernon Village "Town Center"*Vernon Valley a.k.a...

. Two of New Jersey's three ski facilities are in this snow belt (Mountain Creek

Mountain Creek

Mountain Creek is the ski resort closest to New York metropolitan area, located in Vernon Township, New Jersey, on Route 94, from the George Washington Bridge. It offers 167 skiable acres on four mountain peaks, 100% night skiing/snowboarding, and the region's highest vertical feet. Mountain Creek...

 and Hidden Valley

Hidden Valley (New Jersey)

Hidden Valley is a ski area located in Vernon Township, New Jersey, in Sussex County off of County Route 515, near the intersection with Route 94...

).