More snow, ice and rain for the afternoon commute

Road crews are ready to clear the wintry mix off New Jersey's roads as the latest round of snow, freezing rain and rain  arrives just in time for the afternoon commute.

The brine is already down on roads in North and Central Jersey according to New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman Stephen Schapiro with crews and salt spreading contractors ready to go.

"Our focus is on making sure state highways are clear and safe for tonight’s evening commute," said Schapiro in noting this is the 39th event of the winter season for the NJ DOT. "It’s important for motorists to understand that road conditions can change quickly, and when there is freezing rain there is a greater risk of black ice."

A variety of precipitation will be falling acros the state for the Tuesday afternoon commute according to meteorologist Dan Zarrow.

"Unfortunately, the timing of this snowy, icy weather is poor, as it will coincide with the evening commute," Zarrow said.

The problems on the road won't end as warmer air moves in and the precipitation turns to rain overnight through Wednesday. Storm drains and waterways across New Jersey are still thoroughly clogged with ice.

"So as water backs up, we could experience some significant ponding on roadways, and maybe some river flooding as well," Zarrow said.

According to Shapiro, NJ DOT crews are looking at what the next storm on Wednesday night into Thursday may bring.

"The models are in pretty good agreement at this point that we’ll see some bands of moderate to heavy snow through the day on Thursday," Zarrow said, adding that a widespread snowfall of at least 4-6 inches is a reasonable prediction for the state.