Forecasters Watching Two Winter Weather Systems for Early Next Week

A snowy road in Brick’s Herbertsville section in 2013. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Enjoy a sunny weekend, but be prepared for some wintry weather that could move in during the first half of the upcoming work week.

Saturday and Sunday will both be clear and sunny, with highs of 33 and 38 degrees, respectively. But two storm systems have the chance to bring foul weather to the Shore area starting Sunday night and lasting through Wednesday.

The first system is expected to be weak. Known as a “clipper” system, snow is expected to move into the region Sunday night into the early morning hours Monday, however it is expected that there will be a quick burst of precipitation that won’t amount to much. Still, it could come just as the Monday morning rush is getting underway, and even an inch or two of snow (which is what is currently being predicted) could lead to some dangerous road conditions.

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The larger storm will roll in during the early morning hours on Tuesday and last into Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, it is likely to begin as snow, then change to a mix of snow, sleet and rain as temperatures rise.

Dan Zarrow, meteorologist for New Jersey 101.5, said in his forecastthat it’s still too early to figure out exactly how much snow the storm could produce. If temperatures remain on the warm side, his estimate is 2-4 inches for North Jersey and 1-2 inches for South Jersey before the changeover. If temperatures remain cold, there is the potential for 6-10 inches.

“We’ll further nail down which of these scenario(s) looks most likely throughout the weekend,” he wrote in a story on the radio station’s website. “We’ll also get more a more precise sense of the geography and timing too — the start time, the end time, and transition times from snow to mix to rain.”

According to the NWS forecast, temperatures will dip below freezing – to 31 degrees – Monday night and rise to a high of 40 on Tuesday. Rain will continue into Wednesday, with a high of 44.

The real headline: enjoy the sunshine this weekend while it lasts!