Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Thursday declared a state of emergency across New Jersey as up to 18 inches of snow and a dangerous mix of ice are in the forecast for this weekend.
The state of emergency will take effect at 5 p.m. Saturday throughout the entire state.
Sherrill announced the move at an afternoon press conference, saying the multi-day storm will bring “dangerous” conditions, including “heavy and widespread” snow, freezing temperatures, and wind gusts of up to 30 mph. She called on residents to stay home.
“I’m urging New Jerseyans to make plans to avoid travel Saturday evening and all day Sunday,” Sherrill said, speaking from the New Jersey Regional Operations & Intelligence Center in West Trenton on only her fourth day in office.
Sherrill also announced a commercial vehicle travel ban on major interstate highways in the state.
The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for the entire state through Monday afternoon or Monday evening, depending on the county.
“I want to make is really clear: This is not an average winter storm. This is a storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in probably about a decade,” said Sherrill, a former congresswoman and Navy helicopter pilot.
“I, as a veteran, have been raised in crisis management, so we are prepared for this moment, but we do need the people of New Jersey to keep themselves safe, as well.”
She also told residents: “Don’t commit to anything Monday morning. We may still be digging out.”
NJ Transit will provide a recommendation to Sherrill on Saturday morning about adjustments to public transportation schedules, said the agency’s CEO, Kris Kolluri.
The agency has already deployed crews to strategic locations for quick responses during the storm, he added.
“Our No. 1 focus is on safety,” Kolluri said. “Safety of our customers. Safety of our employees.”
Kolluri said NJ Transit will be in close communication with Amtrak during the storm. Amtrak manages NJ Transit’s rail network.
Sherrill said additional salt is available to municipalities through Morton’s. The salt company is supplying local governments after some municipalities reported shortages earlier this week. Requests for salt should be made through each county, Sherrill said.
The state Board of Public Utilities has also started coordinating with utility companies to swiftly respond to power outages.
NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy said energy companies have already called in mutual assistance to reinforce response crews and urged residents to report power outages directly to their utility companies.
The latest National Weather Service forecast for a nasty winter storm expected to hit the state this weekend shows increasing concern about ice across the southern half of the state along with 12 to 18 inches of snowing in northern counties.National Weather Service
State of emergency declarations do not ban people from the roads or require them to shelter in place. Instead, they allow the state to organize its emergency response, trigger laws to prevent price gouging, and more.
The National Weather Service said Friday afternoon there is “high confidence in major impacts from snowfall, sleet, and ice accumulations across much of the area, making travel very difficult, and potentially resulting in widespread closures and infrastructure impacts.”
“Widespread snow and sleet accumulations of 6-16 inches expected,” the agency added. “Snowfall rates near 1-2 inches per hour possible during the daytime period Sunday.”
The forecast shifted for parts of the state on Friday to include increasing concerns for a dangerous layer of ice across the southern half of the state.
The mix of sleet, freezing rain, and plain rain could result in lower snowfall totals of 8 to 12 inches in those counties, the weather service said.
But ice accumulations of 0.1 to 0.3 inches would turn roads treacherous and increase the chances for power outages from falling tree limbs from the weight of the ice.
Northern New Jersey remains on track for 12 to 16 inches of snow, the weather service said.
AccuWeather’s forecast calls for 6 to 12 inches of snow across nearly all of New Jersey and 3 to 6 inches in the southeastern corner of the state.
A massive winter storm is on track to bury most of New Jersey with 12 to 18 inches of snow and chances have increased for a dangerous coating of ice for roughly half the state, according to the latest forecast.AccuWeather.com
Snow is expected to begin late Saturday and become moderate to heavy at times Sunday morning through the afternoon, with the heaviest precipitation occurring during that window.
Once the storm winds down on Monday, brutally cold temperatures are expected through much of next week.
Highs through the middle of next week are expected to struggle to reach the low 20s across most locations, with wind chills falling below zero again Monday and Tuesday nights.
Similar temperatures are expected Wednesday and Thursday, though wind chills should improve somewhat as winds are expected to subside, forecasters said.
This is the first storm Sherrill’s administration is managing. The Democrat was sworn in Tuesday as New Jersey’s 57th governor.
Current weather radar
