Full moon during this weekend's storm could be bad for the N.J. coast

"We do have a pretty substantial threat for some beach erosion along with some coastal flooding" if the current storm track pans out, said Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. Watch video

Aside from the potential for heavy snow, New Jersey faces another threat if the early forecasts are right and a strong winter nor'easter develops this weekend: Beach erosion and coastal flooding.

"We do have a pretty substantial threat for some beach erosion along with some coastal flooding" if the current storm track pans out, said Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly. "We could see quite a few road closures because of flooding issues.

"The flooding threat would be the highest on Saturday, Gaines said.

That day there will be a full moon, when astronomical tides will be at their highest. Theoretically, it wouldn't take a lot of wind or rain to produce flooding or erosion.

ALSO: Strong coastal storm could bring N.J. heavy snow or rain

Although the weather service has not yet projected any specific rain or snow accumulations, because the storm is still several days away from forming, some forecasters say the storm has the potential to dump as much as 6 to 12 inches of snow, and rain could mix in along coastal areas of Monmouth, Ocean and Atlantic counties.

The storm is also expected to pack strong winds.

One private weather consulting company, WeatherWorks in Hackettstown, went so far as to predict the weekend storm "could be a blizzard for the Northeast."

Before dealing with the weekend storm, New Jersey has to cope with occasional snow showers Monday, single-digit wind chills Tuesday morning and another threat of snow showers late Wednesday into early Thursday. 

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.