From snow to cold: What to expect as NJ’s winter storm winds down

Snow Update

It's beginning to look a lot like ... winter!

As of this writing (6 a.m. Sunday), almost all of New Jersey is snow-covered for the first time this season. The only exception is the southern coast — warmer temperatures and a more northerly track to the snow has kept parts of coastal Atlantic and Cape May County snow-free for now. (But that will not last much longer.)

The brunt of the storm is ongoing, with several bands of moderate to heavy snow sliding from west to east across the state. For central and northern New Jersey, it looks like snowfall totals have overperformed the forecast a bit, with 3 or 4 inches on the ground already.

Overnight, the National Weather Service expanded their Winter Storm Warning to now include seven NJ counties: Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester. The warning goes until 1 p.m. and highlights the area most likely to see up to 6 inches of total snow accumulation.

The rest of the state falls under a Winter Weather Advisory until 7 a.m. (Sussex and Warren) or 1 p.m. (everybody else). Advisory-level snow is on the order of 2 to 5 inches.

For parts of the state, this is actually the biggest single snow event in a few years. Let's talk about what to expect as snow wraps up across New Jersey and some bitter cold settles in. What a wintry end to the weekend!

Storm Winds Down

The brunt of the storm, with bands of steady moderate to heavy snow working through New Jersey, will continue through about 8 or 9 o'clock Sunday morning. Additional accumulations after this time frame will be minor.

Snow will taper off for good, from west to east, between about 9 a.m. and Noon. (Just to cover a possible later end time, which some short-range models suggest, I will say lingering snow showers are possible along the eastern edge of New Jersey until 1 or 2 p.m.)

Until the storm starts to wind down, road conditions will be poor, especially on untreated surfaces. And visibility will be low due to falling and blowing snow.

Bitter Cold Settles In

As partial sunshine emerges Sunday afternoon, cold air will flow into New Jersey behind the storm. Temperatures will be going down Sunday, not up. We have already reached our daily "high" for the day, in the lower-mid 30s. Look for thermometers to slowly drop through the 20s as the afternoon goes on.

Plus, a brisk wind will kick up from the northwest, gusting as high as 30 mph. That will add a big bite to the bitter cold.

Let me advocate for two things with this impending arctic air onset: 1.) Try to clear snow as soon as possible Sunday, before it freezes into a sheet of solid ice due to compaction and frigid temperatures. 2.) Get your heaviest winter gear ready to go for the next few days.

Sunday night will be the bottom of the barrel, one of the coldest nights of all of 2025. With that cold air mass, biting wind, and fresh snowpack, we will likely see widespread low temperatures in the teens. Wind chills will be in the single digits, approaching "dangerous cold" territory. That Monday morning bus stop is going to be c-c-cold!

Later This Week

New Jersey stays cold — continuously below freezing, in fact — throughout Monday (upper 20s), Monday night (Teens), and Tuesday (lower 30s) too. Weather should be dry (aside from a passing flurry or snow shower) and skies should be bright.

A shift to southwesterly winds will drive a warmup toward 40 degrees on Wednesday. And then even warmer air moves in Thursday, potentially pushing thermometers into the 50s. The warmest weather New Jersey has seen in two to three weeks.

The warmup will be brief, unfortunately. And it will come with a batch of much-needed rain, most likely from Thursday night through Friday morning.

Beyond that, there are no additional winter storms on the horizon for the next week to 10 days, which takes us to just before Christmas. Forecast models have hinted at the potential for snow in New Jersey sometime over the holiday week. But you know how this works — we're not going to get excited about something until there's something to get excited about. #DanTheSnowGrinch

Be smart and stay safe out there Sunday. And enjoy the winter wonderland!

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Follow him on Facebook for the latest forecast and realtime weather updates.