Some coastal flooding and blowing snow concerns remain for the Garden State, but our overall weather picture looks good for shoveling and digging out.

Shoveling Forecast 20160124
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Digging Out

Good morning New Jersey, and welcome to one of the biggest shoveling days in New Jersey history! Around the radio station this morning, everyone is relieved the impacts of this blizzard are (almost) over. Our "snowed-in slumber party" crew of about 9 staffers are looking forward to digging out our cars and going home.

Radar is nice and clear, and the snow stopped falling right on schedule, around 4 o'clock this morning. Wind speeds are considerably lighter, sustained at 10 to 20 mph, with gusts to 30 mph. (Nothing compared to yesterday's 60+ mph gusts!) Some blowing snow is likely today, and those enormous snow drifts will continue to grow.

Final snowfall totals are nothing short of incredible. Close to 30 inches of snow accumulated across a swath of central and northern New Jersey, as a very heavy snow band got "stuck" there for several hours Saturday afternoon. Every single county in New Jersey received at least one report of 12+ inches on the ground.

Even though quieter weather has resume, there remain two storm-related concerns : coastal flooding and the refreeze potential.

Coastal Flooding

Even as the winter storm system moves further and further out to sea, the coastal flooding concern continues this morning. We have one more high tide cycle with above-normal water levels, around 7 to 8 a.m. today. Moderate flooding is forecast for the Jersey Shore, with the highest crest expected once again in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Our prevailing wind direction has already changed from northeasterly ("nor'east") to northwesterly. That means the wind won't be pushing the ocean water up against the shore as we saw all day yesterday.

In fact, I checked the latest tide gauge numbers, and they seem to be trending a bit lower than forecast. Definitely good news. Water rise in tidal basins are still possible Sunday morning, but I suspect it won't be quite as high as Saturday morning.

Refreezing Tonight

Temperatures for most of New Jersey should climb to just above freezing today, so we should get some snow melt today. This is especially true of treated asphalt surfaces - black objects absorb heat the best, and road salt will contribute to more efficient melting.

However, temperatures tonight will drop way below freezing into the teens. That's certainly a hard enough freeze to cause concern, as wet surfaces may rapidly turn into a sheet of ice by Monday morning. Even road salt and ice melt may lose their effectiveness in such cold temperatures.

We will probably continue this cycle all week long, with temperatures above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. Watch your step so you don't slip and fall, and use extra caution on the roads.

The Forecast

It's been a while since I looked at any weather forecast information beyond the nor'easter. So nice to see a clear forecast for the days ahead, that thankfully does not include much snow!

We'll see some breaks of sunshine by Sunday afternoon, as a stiff breeze makes it feel a bit blustery for at least the first half of the day. Highs are expected to reach the mid 30s for most of New Jersey.

A few clouds will pass through the skies of the Garden State for Sunday night, as some colder temperatures move in. Overnight lows will fall into the teens.

For Monday, I'm happy to say that sunshine will dominate the sky as highs climb into the mid to upper 30s.

Clouds return on Tuesday, and some isolated shower activity is possible through the afternoon hours. The slow warming trend will continue, with highs bumping into the lower to mid 40s.

As New Jersey digs out from one of the biggest snowstorms in history, we've still got you covered top to bottom, from snow drift to blacktop. Stay tuned for the very latest traffic, weather, and news updates!

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