Snow has started to pile up in some parts of New Jersey, while others are getting sleet, rain and freezing rain as warm air works in.
It's here --well, at least in some parts of the state.
A late-winter nor'easter that has the potential of turning into a fierce blizzard is bearing down on New Jersey this morning, dumping snow, sleet and rain across the state and blasting the region with strong wind gusts.
With the storm's center moving closer to the Atlantic coast, warmer air has been pushing in further north and west than was projected. As a result, more sections of southern and eastern New Jersey are getting a mix of sleet and rain, but only light amounts of snow, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's regional forecast office in Burlington County.
The storm, fueled by large amounts of moisture flowing up from the Gulf of Mexico, started moving into South Jersey at about 10 p.m. Monday and began dropping snow in central and northern counties a few hours before sunrise Tuesday.
As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, nearly 6 inches of snow was reported in parts of Sussex County, including Wantage. Light snow was falling in Caldwell, Edison, Newark, Somerville, Sussex Borough, Teterboro and Wall, while heavy rain was falling in Millville and mixed precipitation was falling in Toms River and Trenton.
Throughout the morning on Tuesday, the storm is expected to pick up in intensity -- with fierce winds as strong as 50 to 60 mph and blinding snow that could fall at extreme rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour, forecasters said.
Johnson said sleet and freezing rain has already made some roads icy in South Jersey, and that's an issue that will be prevalent in areas that are getting mixed precipitation on Tuesday.
"It's still going to be a high-impact event for almost all of the state," said weather service meteorologist Dean Iovino. "Even in the areas that don't get a lot of snow, you'll still have to deal with very strong winds."
Some of the strongest winds are forecast for the southeastern region of New Jersey, and that's where very little snow is expected to accumulate, Iovino said. That area is going to get more rain and sleet, because the center of the storm is closer to the Atlantic coast, pushing warm ocean air over the land.
A far different scenario is shaping up on the northern and western side of the Interstate 95 corridor, where the air is colder and most of the precipitation is snow. By the time the storm moves out of the region Tuesday night, it could blanket parts of North Jersey and Central Jersey with as much as 1 to 2 feet of snow.
Here are the latest snowfall projections by the National Weather Service. The top wind gusts so far Tuesday have been recorded in Sea Girt and Seaside Heights, with peak winds of 40 mph, according to the New Jersey Weather & Climate Network at Rutgers University.
Active storm warnings
The following warnings, issued by the National Weather Service, are in effect on Tuesday:
- A blizzard warning is active through 6 p.m. in Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties.
- A blizzard warning is active through midnight in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties, as well as in eastern Passaic and New York City.
- A winter storm warning is active through 6 p.m. in Camden, Gloucester, Ocean, Salem and northwestern Burlington.
- A winter weather advisory is active through 6 p.m. in Atlantic, Cumberland and southeastern Burlington.
- A coastal flood warning is active from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and southeastern Burlington.
- A high wind warning is active from 6 a.m. through 6 p.m. in Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean and southeastern Burlington.
- A coastal flood advisory is active from 8 a.m. until noon in Hudson County, eastern Essex and eastern Union.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.