8-18 Inches of Snow Expected to Blanket Much of New Jersey This Weekend

Significant amounts of snow are expected to blanket virtually all of New Jersey this weekend, as a major winter storm is moving across the country.

Current projects from the National Weather Service have anywhere from 8-18 inches of snow expected across the state. South Jersey could see on the lower end of that amount, thanks to sleet and freezing rain, but the impacts will be just as drastic.

Here's what we know: A significant winter weather event is moving its way across the country as you read this. A low-pressure system with a lot of moisture in it just had a lovely vacation in Baja California, and now it's headed this way to bring precipitation to a lot of its friends across the country. At the same time, his colder-climate cousin, a pressure system coming down from Canada, is bringing some cold weather home from its trip up north.

Where those systems converge will impact how much precipitation falls in most areas, but at this point, every major model supports heavy impacts across the state.

As of late afternoon Thursday, the National Weather service has issued a Cold Weather Advisory for essentially the entire area. We've known the cold was going to hit.

There is also now high confidence that the cold will stretch into next week, which will create additional problems if there are power outages or travel issues.

We also know that snow is coming, and a lot of it. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Saturday night through Monday morning. That will likely be upgraded by tomorrow to a Warning.

As of right now, it looks like heavy snow will fall Saturday night through Monday afternoon across much of the state. During the day on Sunday, there will be some freezing rain mixed in for mostly South Jersey. That will drastically increase the impact of ice and power issues.

And the cold won't be going away anytime soon, either. NWS currently projects no significant warming before Thursday night. By Tuesday, wind chills will hover around -10 degrees.

For those in South Jersey, now is the time to prepare for prolonged power outages. Make sure you have supplies to stay warm, as well as non-perishable food and water.

Make sure you have multiple ways to receive information, including a battery-operated radio, as well as backup chargers for your phones.