Winter Storm Warning in Effect for NJ
The heavy, wet snow that fell for most of the day is moving away from New Jersey but is leaving behind traffic problems, delayed flights and power outages.
Warnings and advisories issued have been canceled as road crews begin the work of removing snow and slush.
A tractor trailer that went down off Interstate 78 in Bedminster closed the westbound lanes for several hours were among the many accidents and spinouts.
The speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike has been reduced to 35 MPH for its entire length and HOV lane rules have been suspended. The Garden State Parkway also has a 45 MPH speed limit from exit #30 (Somers Point) to the Barnegat tolls and 35 MPH the rest of the road to the New York State border.
Power outages have plunged several thousand customers into the dark in Ocean, Monmouth and Hunterdon counties. The JCP&L outage map indicates 1,726 without power in Hunterdon County as of 3:44 p.m. 2,170 are out in Ocean County, mostly in Manchester while 1,733 in Monmouth County are without power. In Mercer County nearly 4,000 are without power mostly in Hamilton Township according to the PSE&G outage map.
Governor Chris Christie (R) declared a state of emergency. “Today’s winter storm is expected to produce heavy snow and travel hazards throughout the state, affecting tonight’s evening commute,” said Governor Christie in a statement. “I’ve authorized state officials to take all necessary action to prepare, and my Administration will continue monitoring conditions throughout the remainder of the storm. I encourage all New Jerseyans to drive carefully and remain off the roads if possible so that our first responders and public safety officials can safely respond to any emergency situations.”
New Jersey state workers in Trenton are being released on a staggered schedule according to the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Facebook page.
Many schools in central and north Jersey have canceled classes again today while others have dismissed early.
EXPECTED SNOW ACCUMULATIONS:
- 8-10 inches in parts of Hunterdon County
- 6-8 inches along the Route 1 corridor including Mercer and Middlesex counties along with Somerset and lower Hunterdon counties
- 4-6 inches in northern Hunterdon and Morris counties along with Monmouth, northern Ocean, Burlington, Gloucester, Camden and Salem counties.
- 2-4 inches or less in southern Ocean, Atlantic, Cape May, southern Burlington and Cumberland counties.
The most snow that has fallen so far is 8.5 inches of snow in Cranbury, Whitehouse Station and East Brunswick. Some locations in Morris County picked up 8 inches while Mercer County picked up 7 inches. Lesser amounts fell in Ocean County where Toms River picked up 4 inches.
The snow is causing flight delays and problems for those trying to leave the after following Sunday night's Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium FlightAware.com reports over 6,300 flights as being delayed as of 4:20 p.m. nationwide and over 2,000 cancellations. Several hundred flights have been canceled to and from Newark, Philadelphia and LaGuardia with less out of JFK.
NJ Transit will cross honor tickets across its entire system today. Most trains will have 10-15 minute delays.The transit system is extending the expiration of the SuperPass through Tuesday at 11:59PM.
NJ appeals courts in Trenton & Newark have already canceled Monday's oral arguments in anticipation of the snow.
The snow is expected to taper off late in the afternoon and temperatures will head below 32 degrees meaning black ice will develop on many roads and sidewalks.
Next up is a snow, freezing rain and icing event that is expect to begin Tuesday night and continue into Wednesday according to a briefing from the National Weather Service. The rainfall and milder temperatures could trigger a snow melt and possible flooding in many area rivers. The most snow will fall in north Jersey.
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