Two-thirds of the Garden State are now under a blizzard watch for the weekend snowstorm. Watch video
Forecasters at the National Weather Service have placed 11 more counties under a blizzard watch for the weekend storm that is expected to pound New Jersey with heavy snow, high seas and dangerous winds.
As of early Thursday morning, only three counties -- Essex, Hudson and Union -- were under a blizzard watch. But shortly before 11 a.m., the weather service added these counties to the blizzard watch area: Somerset, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, Camden, Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland.
A winter storm watch remains in effect for Bergen, Passaic, Sussex, Morris, Warren, Hunterdon and Cape May counties.
A Blizzard Watch is now in effect for the areas in green. For more information please visit https://t.co/5xLdUpKDgr pic.twitter.com/dsIc2WOqJf
-- NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) January 21, 2016
Areas under the blizzard watch could get hit with as much as 18 inches inches of snow from late Friday night through early Sunday, along with sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts as high as 50 mph closer to the Jersey Shore.
"The strongest winds and greatest potential for blizzard conditions will be on Saturday," the weather service said in its blizzard watch advisory. "The combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds could produce whiteout conditions and extremely dangerous travel conditions."
PLUS: What to expect across N.J. as storm approaches
Snow could be dry and fluffy when it starts, but as the storm intensifies it will become wetter and heavier, increasing the risk of downed trees and power lines, the weather service said. "Roads will become impassable due to increasing snow accumulation during the event."
Timing of the storm
The National Weather Service expects the snow to start moving into southern New Jersey between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday, central New Jersey around 10 p.m. Friday and northern New Jersey between 10 p.m. and midnight Friday.
In most areas of the state, snow should be the heaviest Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon, then lighter Saturday night, before the storm system pulls away by Sunday morning.
The current snowfall projections could be revised again because of discrepancies among the various computer models that help forecasters make those projections, said John Murray, a meteorologist for the weather service office in Upton, N.Y.
"Those numbers could change," Murray said. "There are models out there that are showing a little higher, there are models out there that are showing a little lower."
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.