N.J. off to a snowy start

Forecasters say there’s the potential for a significant amount of snow this Thursday and Friday. New Jersey is already on pace to have a snowier than normal winter.

New Jersey climatologist Dave Robinson says snowfall totals that averaged 9.2 inches statewide in December were twice the usual amount.

But as is always the case with weather, he says that’s not necessarily an indication of what’s to come.

“Snowfall can be so fickle,” Robinson said. ” We could go through a snowy January, and then the snow guns shut off come February and March. So it’s really next to impossible to predict the snowfall six and eight weeks in advance.”

Robinson expects volatile weather conditions in the first few weeks of the New Year with frigid cold air late this week.

“The coldest of it is just for a day, Friday into Saturday, and then it’s going to get a little milder, and we’ll see whether the next storm, if it’s cold enough for the storm late in the weekend or next week to be fully snow or it might be a mixed bag,” he said.