Snow totals expected by Wednesday night, Dec. 16, 2020. (Credit: NWS)
The Jersey Shore area is gearing up for a week of wicked, wintry weather as two storms systems are expected to move through at each end of the week.
A winter storm watch was in effect in Monmouth County for the storm forecast later in the week, but not in Ocean County, where rain is expected to temper any snow accumulations.
The first system on Monday will be, mostly, a rain event, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS is forecasting rain before 5 p.m., then rain and snow likely into the evening. The day’s high will reach near 44 degrees. Though there is a 100 percent chance of precipitation, little or no snow accumulation is expected.
After a sunny, cool Tuesday with a high of 39 degrees, the nor’easter is expected to develop along the coastline overnight into Wednesday. There will be a chance of snow before 11 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow between 11 a.m. and noon, then all rain after noon. The high will reach near 40 degrees along the coast.
“There is also the chance for coastal flooding, and wind gusts in excess of 40 m.p.h. Wednesday night into Thursday morning,” the NWS said in a hazardous weather advisory.
On Wednesday night, rain is forecast to continue until 11 p.m., then change to a mix of rain and snow between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., finally changing back to snow after 2 a.m. The overnight low will dip to around 28 degrees.
A chance of snow showers will continue into the morning Thursday, mixing with rain after 11 a.m., then gradually ending. It will be otherwise mostly cloudy, with a high near 36 degrees – and very breezy.
Snowfall totals are expected to remain in the range of no more than 1-2 inches in Ocean County, though this is subject to change with the track of the storm.
