Winter to Visit Ocean City With a Vengeance

The new year will bring snow, flooding and ice to Ocean City starting on Thursday night.

Rain starting on Thursday afternoon will turn to snow Thursday night as temperatures begin to fall rapidly. The air temperature will change from higher than 45 degrees on Thursday to lower than 20 degrees by Friday morning.

The latest National Weather Service forecast calls for 4 to 6 inches of accumulated snow in Ocean City and Cape May County by Friday morning, while areas to the north and west can expect 6 to 8 inches.

The sky will begin to clear in Friday morning, but the high temperature will reach only 21 degrees — with northwest winds of 23 to 32 mph creating wind-chill value as low as -2 degrees. The low temperature on Friday night could fall as low as 4 degrees.

A coastal flood watch is in effect for Ocean City from late Thursday night through Friday afternoon. Exceptionally high spring tides are coinciding with the new moon. Atlantic City is expected to see moderate tidal flooding — with high tides at 6.5 to 7.0 feet above mean low water (by comparison Ocean City saw tide levels of 10.02 feet during Superstorm Sandy and 7.26 feet during a March 2013 nor'easter).

High tide at the Ninth Street Bridge on the bay side of Ocean City will be 9:22 a.m. on Friday (Jan. 3). Winds gusts up to 45 mph (northwest) could contribute to the flooding.

Snow and flooding are expected to be worse farther north along the New Jersey coastline.

Saturday's forecast calls for sun and a high temperature of 36 degrees.