A strong storm system moving in from the west will bring drenching rain, gusty winds and messy driving conditions to New Jersey on Tuesday and early Wednesday, setting the stage for pre-Thanksgiving travel delays on the road and in the air.
While most areas of the state are expected to get saturated with heavy rain for the first time in several weeks, a brief mix of light snow, sleet and rain could fall in high-elevation areas of northwestern New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania, according to Steven DiMartino, a forecaster for the private NY NJ PA Weather company.
DiMartino said people driving in those areas should use caution, especially when the precipitation first arrives, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday. After that, warm air should convert the frozen precipitation to plain rain, but the rain will start getting heavier in the evening and at night, he said.
Forecasters from AccuWeather and the National Weather Service say many areas of New Jersey are likely to get drenched with as much as 2 to 3 inches of rain from Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday. The rain may start as a brief mix of snow, sleet and rain in some high-elevation areas.National Weather Service
The National Weather Service is predicting 1 to 2 inches of snow in the southern Poconos, but is not calling for any accumulating snow in northwestern New Jersey.
For most of the Garden State, the heaviest downpours are expected from Tuesday night through early Wednesday morning before tapering off west to east through the early afternoon on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph are likely, and gusts as high as 45 mph close to the coast can’t be ruled out.
As of Monday evening, no formal wind advisories or flood alerts have been issued in New Jersey. But forecasters say some tree damage is possible from the gusty winds, and as much as 2 to 3 inches of rain will likely fall before the rain ends midday Wednesday.
Drivers may have to contend with moderate rain and gusty winds during the Tuesday evening commute and additional rain during the Wednesday morning commute, forecasters said.
This is the rain forecast for northern New Jersey and the New York City metro region as a large storm system arrives Tuesday afternoon and linger through midday Wednesday.National Weather Service
“The stiff east-to-southeast winds averaging 25-35 mph with gusts of 40-45 mph can pose a problem at some of the airports from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and New York City,” AccuWeather said in a storm report on its website. “Airline delays are most likely during this time (late Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening) due to winds, drenching rain and poor visibility.”
For Thanksgiving travelers heading north and west of New Jersey late Tuesday and early Wednesday, “motorists should expect some roads to become slippery, especially over the highest elevations in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, but farther to the north from northern New York to northern New England, more general wintry driving is likely with accumulating snow,” AccuWeather forecaster Adam Douty said.
The good news: Thanksgiving is shaping up to be a dry day, with mostly sunny skies, although temperatures will be on the cool side. Forecasters are calling for morning lows in the low 30s on Thursday and afternoon highs in the low 50s — right around normal for late November.
Forecasters say parts of the Poconos could pick up 1 to 2 inches of snow from a storm system that will be bringing heavy rain to New Jersey on Tuesday and early Wednesday.National Weather Service
Forecasters from AccuWeather and the National Weather Service say most areas of New Jersey are likely to get drenched with 1 to 2 inches of rain from Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday, with some pockets of 3 inches possible.AccuWeather
Current weather radar
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at [email protected] or @LensReality.