N.J. weather: Snowstorm threat increases for this week. Latest on timing, track.

UPDATE: Up to 6 inches of snow for parts of state in first forecast map for storm this week

The February frenzy of winter storms is expected to continue this week with chances increasing for a snowstorm that could bring widespread accumulations to New Jersey, forecasters say.

“The focus in the long term is on the coastal storm late Wednesday through Thursday which has the potential to bring snow,” the National Weather Service said in its forecast early Sunday. “Guidance has come into pretty good agreement of the track.”

• MORE: Thunderstorms, 60 mph winds, heavy rain in today’s forecast before deep freeze

The storm’s duration and arrival time in New Jersey could swing snowfall totals.

“There remains uncertainty, especially with the timing of the system,” the weather service said. “Some models depict this as a slow moving system. Other guidance shows a fast moving system.”

A slower system would mean more snow over a wider area.

AccuWeather’s updated forecast early Sunday shows an increasing probability of at least 6 inches of snow for the southern half of the state.

“The brewing snowstorm will have two key pieces associated with it,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathon Porter said. “Those being a fresh injection of Arctic air and the fact that it will be the caboose in the long train of February storms as the last storm in a series is often the strongest.”

AccuWeather and weather service forecasters have not issued snowfall total prediction maps yet with the storm still a few days away.

“Still a lot of uncertainty if and where we will see significant snowfall,” the weather service said. “Too early for exact forecast totals.”

The weather service provided a breakdown of snow probabilities for the 48 hour period from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Friday:

• 20 to 40% probability for more than 4 inches of snow north and west of the I-95 corridor
• 40 to 70% probability for more than 4 inches of snow along and south of the I-95 corridor the 48 hour period.
• 20 to 30% probability for more than 8 inches of snow north and west of the I-95 corridor
• 30 to 50% probability for more than 8 inches of snow across southern New Jersey
• 20 to 30% probability for more than 12 inches of snow south and west of the I-95 corridor

Nasty weather Sunday

New Jersey residents are in for a blustery and rainy day on Sunday with high temperatures in the 50s and low 60s.

Wind gusts up to 60 mph could cause power outages and there’s a chance of thunderstorms in South Jersey as a cold front passes offshore this afternoon, the weather service said.

The front will send temperatures crashing this evening into the 20s and 30s with bitter cold wind chills.

High winds gusting to 50 mph are expected to continue Monday with even colder wind chills around zero degrees on Monday night.

The colder temperatures are expected to remain through the week, setting the stage for the snowstorm threat Wednesday and Thursday.