New Jersey Weather: Saturday Snowfall Estimates Released, Increased

UPDATE: Winter storm warnings have now been issued. Read more here: New Jersey Weather: Hour-By-Hour Forecast Of Weekend Snowstorm As Threat Upgraded

ORIGINAL: Some people are calling it the next "snowpocalypse" that could paralyze the South. The only question is, could we really be facing something even remotely apocalyptic in New Jersey this weekend?

The National Weather Service suggests that it's unlikely, but the agency has released maps that show a "reasonable scenario" (if you don't like snow), a "likely" scenario or a "worst-case scenario" for the the storm's impact on the state.

Read more: New Jersey Weather UPDATE: Weekend Winter Storm Warnings, Watch Issued

Here's what they say for the storm that could hit the area between 7 a.m and 7 p.m. on Saturday:

• The reasonable scenario is that there's no snow at all. Zip.
• The likely scenario says that 5 inches falls on northern Ocean County and Monmouth County, 7 inches falls on Ocean City and Galloway, and Monmouth County and the rest of South Jersey (south of Princeton) get 3 inches. And Mercer, Middlesex and Union counties could get 2 inches, while the rest of North Jersey may get 1 inch.
• The worst-case scenario is this: 5 inches fall on Midlesex and Mercer counties; 7 inches fall on northern Ocean, Monmouth, eastern Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties; 10 inches fall on Galloway Township and Ocean City; and 5 inches fall in North Jersey (Union County and north).

Gary Szatkowski, a former NWS meteorologist who still chronicles the weather on Twitter, spelled out the scenarios this way:

And this way:

And this way:

Patch file photo