New Jersey state of emergency: When will blizzard hit tri-state area? List of all counties impacted

The National Weather Service had warned that after the storm intensifies, it can prove to be even more severe than earlier projections.

Forecasters issued blizzard alerts for communities from Maryland to Massachusetts, with US cities on the East Coast preparing for heavy snow and damaging winds.

Blizzard warnings were sounded for New York City and Long Island, Boston and coastal communities in New Jersey. (Getty Images via AFP)

The National Weather Service had warned that after the storm intensifies, it can prove to be even more severe than earlier projections, the Associated Press reported. The blizzard is set to hit the tri-state area, with the weather service saying 1 to 2 feet of snow was possible in many areas.

Blizzard warnings were sounded for New York City and Long Island, Boston and coastal communities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The weather service warned that flooding was also possible in parts of New York and New Jersey, according to AP.

When will the blizzard hit the tri-state area? List of counties to be affected

Light snow begun by 8.30 am (local time) on Sunday in parts of New Jersey's Bergen county. New Jersey is under a blizzard warning and state of emergency beginning from Thursday noon, northjersey.com reported.

The blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service was expanded Sunday morning to include all of New Jersey, the Philadelphia Metro and Suburbs, all of Delaware, and Carbon and Monroe Counties in Pennsylvania. The warning was also expanded in New York City to include Orange and Putnam counties in the lower Hudson Valley, according to northjersey.com.

The list of affected counties in New Jersey include:

• Atlantic County

• Bergen County

• Burlington County

• Camden County

• Cape May County

• Cumberland County

• Essex County

• Gloucester County

• Hudson County

• Hunterdon County

• Mercer County

• Middlesex County

• Monmouth County

• Morris County

• Ocean County

• Passaic County

• Salem County

• Somerset County

• Sussex County

• Union County

• Warren County

“The heavy and steadier snow will start later this afternoon and gradually increase around 2 or 3 pm,” US National Weather Service meteorologist James Tomasini told northjersey.com. Among the counties, Bergen Country can see between 16 and 19 inches of snow.