UPDATE: Blizzard watch in 3 counties; Projected snowfall totals increased

A strong winter nor'easter on track to hit New Jersey this weekend could dump as much as 12 to 16 inches of snow on parts of the Garden State from Friday night through Sunday morning.

The storm also could pack wind gusts as high as 55 mph along the Jersey Shore, the National Weather Service said Wednesday afternoon, when it issued a winter storm watch for most of New Jersey, as well as eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.

A winter storm watch has been issued for New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware as a strong nor'easter heads toward the region. (AccuWeather)

The watch -- effective from late Friday into early Sunday -- does not include Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Sussex or Union counties. Sussex is on the outer fringes of the area expected to receive the most snow, the weather service office in Mount Holly said. The other five counties fall under the jurisdiction of the New York weather service office, which hasn't issued a winter storm watch as of 5:45 p.m. Wednesday.

The New York office issued a weather briefing saying there is "moderate potential" for 6 or more inches of snow and a "low potential" for 12 or more inches in its coverage area, which includes New York City, Long Island, Connecticut and northeastern New Jersey. In addition, there's a "potential for blizzard conditions" Saturday afternoon through Saturday night, with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts as high as 50 to 60 mph.

The region included in the storm watch is expected to get snow accumulations of 12 to 16 inches along the I-95 corridor, and 8 to 12 inches over the northern suburbs of Philadelphia and Central New Jersey.

As of now, the weather service expects the snow to start falling late Friday, likely after the evening rush hour. The snow is likely to get heavy at times and continue into Sunday morning.

"Snow may cling to wires and trees, which may cause power outages," the weather service said in its winter storm watch. "Roads will become impassable due to increasing accumulation during the event."

For coastal New Jersey, strong winds and pounding surf could cause severe flooding and beach erosion, prompting the weather service to issue a coastal flood watch for southern New Jersey and southern Delaware.

The weather service also issued a special marine advisory Thursday, warning of powerful wind gusts and extremely high seas.

"Northeast wind gusts of 50 to 60 knots are likely on Saturday," the weather service advisory said. "These winds are expected to generate seas near 20 feet in the Atlantic coastal waters off New Jersey and Delaware on Saturday."

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