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Winter Storm Warnings in effect through Wednesday

The second winter storm in 48 hours time will impact the area beginning Tuesday Night and continuing into Wednesday. Despite occurring less than two days after a significant snowstorm which blanketed the area with 8-10″ of snow from Sunday into Monday, this system will feature an entirely different set of threats — and will also feature a completely different evolution. A low pressure system is forecast to drive from Tennessee Valley into the Ohio Valley and Western Pennsylvania, while a secondary surface low redevelops off the coast of New Jersey. The result will be heavy precipitation overspreading the area Tuesday Night, and mid level warm air advection rapidly surging northward.

At the surface, cold air looks to be stubborn — especially away from the coast. The result will be a storm featuring snow which will quickly transition to sleet, freezing rain and rain throughout the area. Coastal locations and areas farther south will be warmer initially and likely will changeover to plain rain after just light accumulations. But farther north and across interior New Jersey, Southeast NY and parts of CT — significant low level cold will be slower to scour out. And the result will be the potential for several inches of snow followed by icing, which could create a high impact storm system with travel hazards and power outages into Wednesday. The National Weather Service issued Winter Storm Warnings in advance of the system, which are in effect for Tuesday Night into Wednesday.

Snow (left) and Ice (right) forecasts from Tuesday Night into Wednesday from our meteorologists.

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Live Blog: High impact snowstorm underway

The National Weather Service has issued widespread Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories as a moderate to high impact snowstorm will impact the majority of the area on Monday. A low pressure system traversing northeastward along a cold front will provide lift for significant precipitation, which will move northeastward into the area. Bands of moderate to heavy precipitation will bring periods of snow, heavy at times, to much of Northern and Central New Jersey. For the latest expected accumulations and information, our live blog below has updates every hour or so:

8:30am Update: Snow continues throughout a vast majority of the forecast area with increasing frontogenic forcing areawide allowing for improved snowfall rates and developing expansion of banding. This will continue for the next few hours and forecast models are in good agreement on increased snowgrowth and potential for more rapid accumulations. Snow is accumulating in all areas despite warm ground, but obviously suburbs are seeing quicker accumulation rates based on fallen liquid observations thus far.

The banding is expected to continue on a southwest to northeast trajectory over the next several hours. HRRR is in good agreement with other short term models on a band of 4-8″ of snow from essentially Hunterdon County NJ through Trenton and northeastward from Monmouth Co to Staten Island NY, including Union, Somerset and Middlesex Counties in NJ. This area is prime for amounts on the higher end of that scale and the models indicate some isolated potential for amounts over 8″. Confidence in that is low and our forecast remains 4-8″ for much of that area into NYC, SW CT and LI.

Farther South in Central and Southeast NJ the transition line from rain to snow continues working south but progress has slowed. Southeast of Mount Holly, rain continues and is expected to continue over the next few hours. Some snow or sleet may mix in during heavier banding. Snow totals are expected to be lower in this area, although there will eventually be a transition to frozen precipitation later today.

Stay tuned over the next few hours and be aware of very hazardous travel. We have included our updated snowfall map below.

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Moderate snowstorm likely on Monday

A low pressure system developing along a stalled frontal boundary is likely to bring precipitation to the entire area beginning early Monday morning, with cold air funneling in from the west/northwest behind the front and changing precipitation to snow throughout the area. Forecast models have trended much farther north and more expansive with the precipitation shield associated with this low pressure — and as a result, we are now expecting the potential for moderate snowfall accumulations throughout the area. There are several uncertainties still remaining with the forecast system, including timing and temperatures, but confidence continues to increase in the accumulation forecast today.

Snow is expected to begin in Northern NJ, NYC, SE NY and Connecticut during the early morning hours on Monday. Across parts of Central and Southern NJ, precipitation may begin as rain or may be mixed. As precipitation intensity increases, dynamic cooling will occur — changing most areas to snow. The exception may be in Southeast NJ and parts of Long Island, near the coast, where warmer air in the low levels will keep precipitation mixed or stop snow from accumulating. Elsewhere, moderate to heavy snow is then expected to continue throughout much of the morning and early afternoon.

Storm Total Snowfall Forecast as issued by our meteorologists on February 2, 2014.

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Super Sunday warmup will be short lived

Given the nature and degree of the cold snaps so far this winter season, it seems like every warm up deserves a lot of attention. There have only been a few this year (most notably one in December and one in mid January) — and another is on the way this weekend. Conveniently timed during the Super Bowl festivities in New York City, a low pressure system will ride to the north of our area on Sunday providing a warm southerly fetch out ahead of it. The bulk of precipitation associated with the storm looks likely to stay north of our area as well, with just a few showers possible on Sunday.  There is also some potential for a period of steady rain early Sunday morning across Southern New Jersey.

Sunday will feature some of the warmest weather in weeks as high temperatures will rise through the 40’s and approach 50 during the day. A cold front will move towards the area Sunday Night — during the Super Bowl — and the wind shift will mark a change (or return) to a colder and more wintry airmass. Northwest winds will usher in much cooler air aloft and at the surface by Sunday Night, with the front moving just east of the area. But the story doesn’t end there. A developing disturbance over the Southern US will shift northeastward along this frontal boundary, potentially resulting in a winter weather event on Monday.

NAM model forecasting high temperatures well into the 40's on Sunday afternoon.

NAM model forecasting high temperatures well into the 40’s on Sunday afternoon.

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