As snow continued to fall on some of the area Tuesday morning, Philadelphia and the immediate suburbs dodged major snow accumulation while parts of New Jersey still saw plenty of snow.
"The farther west you go, the less snow you will see," said NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologist Bill Henley.
Snow moved in along the coastline overnight and spread inland. Strong, gusty winds struck parts of South Jersey — especially along the coast. Some coastal flooding as well as blowing and drifting snow in South Jersey made conditions tough.
Heavier snow came in from the north and led to accumulating snowfall in Ocean County and points northward. Ocean County is the part of the region expected to be hit the hardest.
"Snow totals inland are going to be much lower than originally expected," said Henley.
Weather models showed that snow totals in Philadelphia and the immediate suburbs won't be nearly as high as initially expected.
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NBC10's Sheena Parveen explained the reasoning for the lowered totals.
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The National Weather Service geared back a Winter Storm Warning — that initially covered most of the area as the early parts of the storm struck Monday — to a Winter Weather Advisory for only Bucks, Burlington, Camden, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia counties. A Blizzard Warning for Ocean County, New Jersey was scaled down to a Winter Storm Warning early Tuesday.
Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist-in-charge with the NWS's office in Mount Holly, apologized on Twitter for missing the forecast.
TIMELINE
10 a.m. to Noon - Snow on and off
Noon to 2 p.m. - Snow tapers off
EXPECTED SNOW TOTALS
Ocean County - 5 to 10 inches
Philadelphia/I-95 Corridor - 1 to 3 inches
Northern and western suburbs - 1 to 2 inches
Lehigh Valley/Poconos - Coating to 1 inch
Delaware - about 1 inch
Atlantic County - 4 to 6 inches
All Philadelphia schools, agencies, offices and courts were closed Tuesday in anticipation of the storm. States of emergency were issued for Philadelphia and New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie also implemented a travel ban for all of the Garden State that he later lifted Tuesday morning. Mayor Michael Nutter lifted Philly's emergency Tuesday morning meaning that residents could park along city streets as normal.
Hundreds of area schools announced closures in anticipation of possibly dangerous road conditions.
Despite lower snow totals, slick spots caused tough travel on area roads.
If you are flying in or out of Philadelphia International Airport, check your flight status before you go because many flights were canceled.
New Jersey Transit ceased operations during the storm but resumed trains and buses throughout Tuesday.
