Are These the Exact Dates for NJ’s First Snowflakes This Winter?

I know, I know -- summer just unofficially ended, kids just went back to school, and your pumpkin spiced-whatever has barely cooled down and we're already talking about snow.

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In all fairness, Target has had Halloween candy out since about Easter and CVS should have Easter decorations out any day now, but as we head into the end of 2022, we naturally begin to think about winter.

If you recall last winter, it was a bit strange. The southern shore points had two massive snowstorms -- one officially a blizzard -- that each dumped over a foot of snow. The greater Atlantic City area finished last winter with about three feet of snow while the rest of the state had about a foot to a foot-and-a-half.

But what about the upcoming winter?

Official forecasts will be coming out soon that talk about trends over the next few months. We should have a decent idea of whether or not it'll be colder or warmer than average along with below or above-average precipitation. That's about all that forecasters can reliably predict 30, 60, or 90 days out.

But what if you could know exactly when New Jersey will see its first snowflakes of the season? For that, we turn to AccuWeather.

AccuWeather is a leading global weather forecasting company that offers traditional 7-day forecasts along with trends that offer details months and months in advance.

Of course, those forecasts for days that are months away at this point need to be taken with a grain of (highway) salt, but at the very least, it's fun to look at (and to answer all of the Facebook comments now, again, this is just for entertainment).

To predict the first snowflakes of the winter of 2022-2023, I picked a handful of cities across the state to see what AccuWeather had to say. Note that the dates below are the first time snow is predicted, not the first snowstorm.

Hammonton, Toms River - November 26

Very windy; cloudy with a bit of snow in the morning followed by a shower in spots in the afternoon

November 26th happens to be the Saturday of the long Thanksgiving weekend and they say the high temperature that day will be 51, so don't expect the snow to stick around at all.

Cape May, Camden, Sussex, Lake Hopatcong - December 2

Some points in the state won't see snow until the beginning of December, but, again, it'll be mild that day so you likely won't need a snow shovel. Note that Sussex could see some sleet on November 22nd.

Trenton, New Brunswick, Newark - to be determined

Between now and 90 days out, there are a couple of chances of a rain/snow mix after Thanksgiving, but no snowflakes by themselves.

So will we see some snowflakes around Thanksgiving? Only time (and chief meteorologist Dan Zarrow) will tell...