-WINTER STORM WARNING should be issued shortly. -BLIZZARD - TopicsExpress

-WINTER STORM WARNING should be issued shortly. -BLIZZARD conditions possible near the coast Tuesday evening. -BITTER ARCTIC AIR arriving. What a turn of events here! This storm will develop and ride along the arctic boundary which should be near the mouth of the Delaware Bay tomorrow morning. As the low deepens and intensifies, bands of heavier snow will develop. At the same time plenty of arctic air will be arriving creating very high snow ratios (fluff factor). The average ratio in a snowstorm is 10:1 (1 inch of rain = 10 inches of snow). This storm, however, will produce 15-20 to 1 ratios. Therefore, it wont take as much moisture to produce big snow totals. For example, at a 10 to 1 ratio, .4 of liquid on the modeling = 4 inches of snow. But at a 20 to 1 ratio that .4 of liquid now equals 8 inches of snow. Thats how dramatically the arctic air may impact this storm. By Tuesday evening I could see BLIZZARD conditions setting up along the Jersey shore (mainly Ocean and Monmouth counties) because of the gusty winds. A blizzard is defined as three consecutive hours of at least 35 mph winds combined with low visibilities (1/4 mile or less). There may even be a 2 inch per hour band that develops near the coast depending on the storms track. AccuWeather this morning had 3-6 for almost the entire viewing area. I like the call, but I could also see how this ends up being more like 5-8 inches. Theres a lot of questions that need to be hammered out. How quickly does this storm intensify? How high are the snow ratios? How strong will the upward lifting be? Wheres the arctic boundary during the height of the storm? All of this will play a huge role in how much snow you see in your neighborhood tomorrow. Make sure you tune in to Action News this evening for the latest on this developing storm. Meteorologists Cecily Tynan and Adam Joseph will have all the answers for you @ 4pm, 5pm and 6pm.