Roads, NJ Transit, power — Essential snow info for March 7

TRENTON — New Jersey is ready to weather the late winter storm that will anywhere from three to 12 inches of snow across the state.

After a delay in the arrival of the snow on Wednesday afternoon the intense snow speard across the state around noon, according to metorologist Dan Zarrow, and could fall in some areas at a rate of 1-3 inches an hour.

Zarrow said there were widespread reports of thundersnow and thundersleet as well.

Most school districts in New Jersey made the call on Wednesday to cancel classes or to dismiss early. Schools along the shore where less snow was expected waited until Wednesday morning to make their decision.

Gov. Phil Murphy closed all state offices for Wednesday with only essential personnel required to come into work.

NJ Transit

• NJ Transit is on a Severe Weather Schedule Level 1 limited weekday rail schedule.  "We want to give our customers the opportunity to have a clear picture of just how much service we can offer and, more importantly, when their next train is scheduled," NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith said when the severe weather plan was announced.
• Northeast Corridor service was temporarily suspended around 7 a.m. between Trenton and Jersey Avenue due to an Amtrak overhead wire issue in Trenton but was restored by 7:35 a.m.

ROADS

• State Police said they have  responded to 56 motor vehicle crashes and 102 motorist aids (breakdown, spin outs, flat tire, etc)  statewide since midnight on roads they patrol.
• Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy warned of numerous incidents in the afternoon on the Garden State Parkway
• A crash on Route 22 in the Clinton/Lebanon area brought down a utility pole and wires closing the road in both directions.
• A pick up truck and salt truck crashed into each other on the southbound Garden State Parkway south of Route 78 around 8:30 a.m., according to State Police spokesman Sgt Jeff Flynn. One person was hospitalized for lacerations, according to  Flynn, who said the incident remained under investigation. The incident created a multi-mile delay.
• Speed is lowered to 45 mph on Garden State Parkway between Tinton Falls and the NY State line and the NJ Turnpike between the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Garden State Parkway.
• "If you see crews working, whether they're spreaders or plows give plenty of space for them to work. Stay back, allow them to do their job to get things clear," NJ Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Schapiro said.

POWER

• JCP&L continues its restoration efforts while conditions allow from last Frday's nor'easter joining PSE&G and Atlantic City Electric watching for new outages "Unfortunately, the combination of strong winds and heavy snow will likely cause additional power outages." Zarrow said.
• PSE&G's outage map showed and Atlantic City Electrics showed a scattering of outages as of 1:30 p.m.

AIRPORTS

• More than 600 flights in-and-out of Newark Liberty Airport have been cancelled, according to FlightAware.com's Sara Orsi, with 2,673
  "Heavy snow is expected to accumulate at Philadelphia, Boston, LaGuardia and Kennedy and could also impact diversion airports throughout the region. Airlines are allowing fee-free changes (and refunds in some cases) for itineraries potentially impacted by the storm," Orsi said.

How are you affected by the storm? Share your stories, pictures and video with reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ