A snow total forecast from the National Weather Service.
Social media hysteria, talk of ruined Thanksgiving plans, and at least one local news outlet hyping a snowstorm that would “slam” New Jersey have culminated in an all-too-familiar forecast for the Jersey Shore: about an inch of snow, but mainly a chilly rain as warm ocean temperatures will hold back the prospects of a white Thanksgiving.
“At this time, the precipitation is expected to be mainly rain during the daylight hours on Wednesday from the Interstate 95 corridor southeastward,” the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly predicted in a briefing released on a coastal storm forecast to move in the day before Thankgiving. “The rain-snow line is anticipated to move southeastward on Wednesday night with the rain changing to snow along the Interstate 95 corridor.”
For the Shore area: an inch or less of snow, according to an accumulation map issued with the briefing package. Along the immediate coast – the barrier islands and the first mile or so from the ocean – there could be no snow at all. Snowfall amounts northwest of I-95 could be in the area of 4 inches of more, and up to 6-8 inches in the northwest corner of New Jersey. But even for areas directly west of the coast – Burlington, Mercer and Middlesex counties – the forecast calls for just 2-4 inches.
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In addition to the mixed precipitation at the coast, the nor’easter will bring with it the potential for high winds which could gust to gale force – 38 m.p.h. or more – and produce rough surf.
Despite the more tame forecast than what some portrayed earlier this weekend, the National Weather Service warned that slick conditions could still exists at airports outside the Shore area, such as Philadelphia and Newark, and the snow total forecast was subject to change as more data arrives over the next few days.
