Spring arrives with a blush of slightly warmer weather today, with some places in New Jersey reaching 50 degrees under mostly clear skies.
It won’t last long, says the National Weather Service.
Starting at midnight tonight, a storm system will coat at least part of the state with an inch and more of snow beginning around midnight, said Walter Drag, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
The cold front arriving on the heels of the precipitation will drop temperatures 10 or more degrees for Thursday – and it will stay colder than average through the beginning of April, Drag predicted.
“There’s still some winter left – it’s going to be colder than normal,” he said. “That’s going to be the pattern through the first week of April.”
Tonight’s storm remains unpredictable, and there are no advisories or warnings yet in effect. But some areas of New Jersey will get the wintry mix – and it’s likely to be the central and southern parts of the state, Drag said.
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A “hazardous weather outlook” issued by the National Weather Service covers a wide arc off the state from Cape May swinging up to Sussex County, only leaving out the northeastern counties.
“It’s just going to be an interesting event,” Drag said.
Another winter-like storm is also expected to bring precipitation to the Garden State early next week, Drag said. It will bring rain and perhaps snow, he added.
“There’s going to be some precipitation,” he said.
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