Arctic Blast to Bring Cold and Snow to New Jersey

Arctic Blast to Bring Cold and Snow to New Jersey

With freezing temperatures on Thursday night and a possibility of light snowfall late Friday, New Jersey is experiencing an early taste of winter.

The coldest temperatures of the season are expected tonight as an arctic air mass settles over New Jersey, with lows falling into the single digits in northwest regions and teens elsewhere.

It will feel significantly colder with gusty winds.

Following Thursday's cold front passage, which brought strong northwest winds of 20 to 25 mph with gusts as high as 35 mph throughout the evening, the conditions are extremely chilly. As high pressure moves in from the west late tonight, these winds will lessen.

According to NJ.com, on Friday morning, a number of locations—including Newark Airport, which set a record of 15 degrees in 1935, Atlantic City Airport, which set a record of 20 degrees in 1966, and Trenton Airport, which set a record of 10 degrees in 1926—may approach or surpass record low temperatures.

Friday will continue to be extremely cold, with highs only in the mid-to upper-20s in the north and lower 30s elsewhere. For December 5, that is roughly 15 to 18 degrees colder than usual.

According to the National Weather Service, this arctic high pressure system is expected to move eastward on Friday night. This could allow a weak low pressure system that is moving far to the south to lightly snow the southern parts of the state on Friday night and into Saturday morning.

The amount of snowfall in southern New Jersey is predicted to be less than half an inch, which is below the advisory requirements.

Although temperatures will still be below average, Saturday will bring somewhat warmer weather with highs in the upper 30s to lower 40s. As warmer marine air flows in, some light precipitation may continue into Saturday morning and mix with or turn into rain close to the shore.

Overnight lows The temperature on Saturday night will be in the lower 30s close to the shore and in the teens to 20s inland.

Early next week may bring some of the coldest conditions of the season when another reinforcing injection of cold air moves in behind a cold front on Sunday night. Keep up-to-date with the weather forecast.