SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Friday morning, Hurricaneville learned that a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for portions of the Central Jersey area including Middlesex County. Other parts of the area north and west including Somerset, Union, and Essex County are under a Winter Storm Warning.

According to a weather bulletin from WeatherBug, an area of low pressure was centered over Missouri, and rapidly moving to the east. The storm system is forecast to move over New Jersey as well as the rest of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast later on Friday. At 4:11 AM EST, the outer fringes of the storm system was already bringing precipitation to Southeastern Pennsylvania according to the latest radar from the Weather Channel.

The storm system will start out as snow, but as warmer air works its way in as the low pushes toward the region, the snow will change over to sleet and freezing rain. Looking at the latest forecast from the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, there is a chance of snow before 7:00 AM, and then it will be a mix of snow, sleet, and rain after that. Daytime accumulation is expected to range between 3 to 5 inches with close to another inch occurring during the night time hours for a total storm accumulation of about 4 to 6 inches.

This is not your classic Northeast winter storm since it is a Mid-Latitude Cyclone heading directly downstream from the Midwest and Great Plains. Consequently, a warm sector will develop over our area as the day progresses, which will save the region from a more significant snowfall. However, there is much more moisture for the storm system to work with this storm as supposed to the storm on Tuesday, and that will create the possibility of a greater accumulation.

Meanwhile, colder air will remain entrenched longer over Somerset, Union, and Essex counties as well as points farther north and west. Consequently, higher accumulations are expected. For example, in Somerset County, 4 to 8 inches of the white stuff can be expected with some ice while 5 to 9 inches is anticipated in portions of Essex County including Newark.

Currently in South Plainfield, the temperature is 28.3 degrees with the barometer holding steady at 30.13 inches of Hg. Winds are calm out of the West-Southwest. Hurricaneville and Greg’s Weather Center will try to continue to monitor the storm situation as it develops during the day today here in Central Jersey.