Some may not get power until Wednesday … and a storm’s coming

TRENTON — It's a race against the clock to restore power in some parts of New Jersey, as yet another nor'easter is forecast to drop more snow in the same areas.

More than 66,000 JCP&L customers as of 3 p.m.. remained without power, according to the utility's outage map. Most of those were in Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties. Utility spokesman Ron Morano said most of those areas will be restored by Tuesday night at midnight.

"However, in the areas that were hardest hit in northern Morris County and Sussex County, it could be late Wednesday," Morano said.

The area could get another 4 to 8 inches of snow on Wednesday, according to Townsquare Meteorologist Dan Zarrow.

"The worst-case scenario for this new nor'easter is a 'Goldilocks' solution. Not too far west. Not too far east. Just the right combination of heavy precipitation and cold temperatures," Zarrow said.

The weight of the snow could bring down more branches in an area where hundreds of trees brought down wire and utility poles. Morano said the utility has opened up more than 500 roads to allow crews to reach problem areas.

"There's hundreds and hundreds of trees that have been affected by this storm, more than 200 poles and 1,000 spans of wire as well," Morano said.

Morano said the utility is ramping up its restoration efforts and using all available resources.

"More than 1,600 JCP&L linemen, damage assessors, hazard responders, forestry personnel, dispatchers and contractors are working to restore customer outages. In addition, more than 430 line workers from other FirstEnergy utilities and contractors are on-site or in transit to assist with restoration efforts in northern New Jersey," Morano said.

Nearly 200 PSE&G crew workers will join JCL&L in Sussex County as most of that utility's own customers have the power back.

"We understand our customers are frustrated but we want to thank them for their patience and  understanding," Morano said. "This is a difficult restoration just due to the enormity of the damage we've seen in this particular region of New Jersey. It was really bad and this was a really bad storm that affected the whole mid-Atlantic region.

How are you affected by the power outages? Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ