Clipper #2 About to Arrive

Another round of snow showers with a burst of snow is anticipated this afternoon across Central and Southern New Jersey. Some areas will likely pick up an additional coating to an inch of snow. The models still indicate this system weakening as it enters New Jersey. This system does look a bit stronger than the clipper yesterday.

Clipper Entering New Jersey

The clipper I have been following all morning is about to enter New Jersey on schedule. In fact, some flurries and snow showers are already in New Jersey. This will begin what will be about a five hour period of occasional snow showers or periods of snow. The heaviest bursts of snow could drop the visibility to about one-mile. Temperatures are around or slightly above freezing. I suspect that in the heavier bursts, we could see temperatures drop back a degree or two as evaporative cooling takes place. The only place the radar is indicating some rain mixing in is in Cape May County.

We will see a dusting to an inch from this storm system. Again, an isolated spot could see more than one inch of snow. This snowfall is not much, but the previous events this year with this nuisance snowfall have caused major headaches. One inch or less of snow will not keep people off the roadways and that is how we get more accidents and jams during these types of events.

Clipper To Bring Snow Today

A clipper system that will impact our region this afternoon into this evening is now located from Washington D.C. northward through Harrisburg. This system will continue to slowly move eastward today and move offshore tonight.

The computer models continue to indicate 0.01” to 0.10” of available liquid with this system with the higher end of that number towards our south. The recent radar trends of the system appear to show some filling in of the precipitation, so I do not see this falling apart. In fact, this could get a bit more potent as a bit of energy goes into the system. As it approaches the ocean, it may try to pull in some additional moisture...but the dynamics appear weak and the time to do this is very limited. It is interesting how well this system survived crossing the Appalachian Mountains.

Some areas may just pick up a dusting, but I continue to expect amounts of a coating to an inch in some places. Some amounts in excess of an inch could occur in Southern New Jersey. Temperatures are below freezing in most places and they may rise to around freezing. Atlantic and Cape May Counties are the only places where temperatures are above freezing. But should the intensity be heavy enough, evaporative cooling may make up for the lack of below freezing air at the surface.

The system will impact the region stating around noon and linger to about 5:00 or 6:00 tonight. This system is unfortunately timed for the afternoon into the evening commute.

This snowfall is not much, but the previous events this year with this nuisance snowfall have caused major headaches. One inch or less of snow will not keep people off the roadways and that is how we get more accidents and jams during these types of events. Since these coatings may not be uniform, I will put out a graphic highlighting the potential for periods of snow.

Nuisance Snow to Affect Afternoon and Evening Rush Hour

Another round of snow is likely on Friday. A clipper system will slowly progress into our region on Friday Afternoon. The clipper will be pushing offshore during the evening commute. The snowfall amounts will generally be under an inch for most areas. The North American Model from 00z shows that this system gives us 0.1” to .10” of liquid to work with. This model does show a little bit more moisture over Delaware with 0.10” to 0.25” of liquid to work with and this area could scrape Cape May County. The current radar does show the southern part of this clipper to be a bit more organized, so I could see why the model indicates the heaviest stuff the further south one lives or travels. The problem is that temperatures will be above freezing around Cape May, so I am not ruling out that rain cannot mix in. But if it should be snow, there could be amounts in excess of one inch in Extreme Southern New Jersey.

This will affect the evening commute and make it sluggish in many parts of the region. Temperatures will be around freezing or a bit above, so the snow could melt at first. But if there is a burst…some roads could turn icy or get a light coating. We have had several instances so far this year where a light snowfall resulted in numerous delays and accidents since most people do not avoid travel during nuisance storms.