Winter Storm Watch for Princeton Area Late Wednesday Through Late Thursday

feb12stormwatchThe National Weather Service in Mt. Holly has issued a winter storm watch for Mercer County that is in effect from late Wednesday night through late Thursday night. Between six and ten inches of snow is expected.

Rain or sleet are expected to start around 8 p.m. Wednesday, and the precipitation will turn to snow around midnight. The snow could mix with sleet during the day Thursday and will taper off late Thursday night.

Icing due to freezing rain no longer appears to be a major threat, but heavy wet snow will cling to trees and wires.

Winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 30 miles per hour will be possible on Thursday, which could lead to power outages if heavy snow accumulations are on power lines and tree limbs.

The heaviest snowfall will be to the northwest of the I-95 corridor, but a large part of the region will see 6 or more inches of snow. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are possible late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Temperatures on Thursday will range from the upper 20s far north to mid 30s south.

Small changes in storm track or intensity could result in a significant change in the impacts.

The Wednesday afternoon and evening commute should be fine, since precipitation is expected to start after 8 p.m. Wednesday. The storm will affect the Thursday morning and Thursday evening commute.

The good news — according to the National Weather Service it looks like there might be a slight change in the weather pattern later next week that will bring more seasonable temperatures to the area.

“The best we could hope for is a gradual warm up with no rain, so the snowpack and river ice go away quietly,” reads the National Weather Service report.

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.