UPDATE: Latest snow forecasts for Wednesday night as bitter cold grips state
Weather forecasters are growing more confident that a large winter storm will be pushing its way from the southern U.S. to the eastern U.S. this week.
However, big questions remain about where the bulk of the storm will hit — and how much snow, if any, will fall in New Jersey.
Forecasters from AccuWeather continue to predict a widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow falling across most of northern and central New Jersey and 3 to 6 inches of snow piling up in the southern half of the Garden State from late Wednesday through early Thursday.
Forecasters from AccuWeather continue to predict 1 to 3 inches of snow in northern and central New Jersey and 3 to 6 inches of snow across most of South Jersey from late Wednesday through early Thursday.AccuWeather
The National Weather Service’s two forecast offices that cover New Jersey say this week’s storm had the potential to be a big one for our region. But it now appears the impacts will be minimal, because the storm will likely track farther south than originally expected.
As a result, it appears New Jersey will just get brushed by the storm’s outer bands of snow, the weather service says.
Forecasters from the National Weather Service's regional office in New Jersey are predicting 1 to 3 inches of snow in far southern New Jersey through 7 a.m. Thursday.National Weather Service
The weather service’s latest snow forecast maps are calling for little, if any, snow in North Jersey, less than an inch of snow in Central Jersey and only 1 to 2 inches of snow across most of South Jersey through 7 a.m. Thursday.
The agency is predicting 2 to 4 inches of snow in Cape May County, the area of New Jersey that will likely be closest to the heart of the storm system.
A growing number of forecasters believe the heaviest snow from this week’s storm will be targeting Maryland, Virginia and southern Delaware.
Forecasters from the National Weather Service's regional office in New York are predicting less than an inch of snow in the New York City metro region and northeastern New Jersey through 7 a.m. Thursday.National Weather Service
AccuWeather says its forecast snow map “takes into account the potential for the storm to shift some,” noting there’s a possibility of “heavier snow making it farther north into places like Philadelphia, New York and Boston, where lighter amounts of 1-4 inches were being forecast.”
On the other hand, “should the storm be more compact and track farther to the south, little to no snow may fall from Philadelphia to New York City and Boston,” AccuWeather noted.
Intense winds continue in N.J.
Before the storm even ramps up, New Jersey has to deal with intense winds on Monday and very cold temperatures through most of this week because of a blast of arctic air that arrived late Sunday.
Winds were gusting as high as 45 to 50 mph in many areas of the state Monday morning, with some gusts clocked as high as 54 mph.
The winds were even more intense Sunday night, with some gusts reaching 70 mph, sparking tens of thousands of power outages because of toppled trees and electrical lines.
Current weather radar
Stories by Len Melisurgo
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.