Keep those snow brushes handy. You'll probably need them when you leave work today and when you head outside Wednesday morning.
Light snow showers will be coming in waves, on and off throughout the afternoon and evening on Tuesday, with the same pattern continuing through Wednesday night across most of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, forecasters say. While most of the snow will be on the light side, there could be some pockets of heavy precipitation.
When the evening rush hour starts on Tuesday, light snow could be falling across most of the state, said Valerie Meola, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service regional office in Mount Holly.
"In terms of intensity, it looks like there could be more (snow) over South Jersey when the commute hits," she said.
Although a winter storm warning was issued for the South Jersey region late Monday, it was downgraded to a winter weather advisory early Tuesday morning, because lower snowfall amounts are now projected. Large sections of South Jersey were originally expected to get 6 to 8 inches of snow, but now 4 to 6 inches are likely in the southwest corner and 3 to 4 inches are projected in the eastern and far southern sections of South Jersey.
Most counties in central and northern New Jersey should get 2 to 3 inches of snow between now and early Wednesday afternoon, except for the far north and west region, which is projected to see only 1 to 2 inches. In addition, coastal areas of New Jersey are at risk for moderate flooding.
Meola said the snow is coming from a complex weather pattern in which two low-pressure systems are interacting with a large trough that's spread across a big chunk of the nation, from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic region. One low is planted near the Great Lakes, and the other low is planted off the Atlantic coast.
Both lows are in the lower part of the atmosphere and have air that is circulating counter-clockwise, while the trough is aloft in the middle level of the atmosphere and slowly moving from west to east, Meola said.
The trough's slow movement is why our region is seeing intermittent snow showers for such a long period, Meola said. Eventually, the low off the Atlantic coast will start moving northeast, and the trough will push across the mid-Atlantic region by Thursday, bringing an end to the snow showers.
Here are the latest snowfall projections by the National Weather Service, from Tuesday morning through Tuesday night. (National Weather Service)
When the snow clears out, a strong high pressure system will drop down from Canada, bringing some of the coldest temperatures of the year to New Jersey. Valentine's weekend should be a frigid one, Meola said, with low temperatures dipping into the teens and single digits in some areas and wind chills dropping to zero or slightly below zero in the far northwestern counties.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.