New Jersey Governor Issues State of Emergency Amid Severe Winter Weather

New Jersey Governor Issues State of Emergency Amid Severe Winter Weather

With up to 18 inches of snow and a hazardous mixture of ice predicted for this weekend, New Jersey issued a state of emergency for the whole state on Thursday.

At a press conference, Governor Mikie Sherrill made the announcement and advised citizens to prepare to stay indoors throughout the multi-day storm.

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, the state of emergency will go into force.

From the New Jersey Regional Operations & Intelligence Center in West Trenton, Sherrill warned, "Please continue planning to stay indoors on Sunday."

"I'm asking New Jerseyans to plan to avoid traveling on Saturday night and Sunday morning."

Additionally, Sherrill announced a travel limit for commercial vehicles on the state's interstate roads.

Through Monday afternoon or Monday evening, depending on the county, the National Weather Service has issued snow storm warnings for the whole state.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen a storm like this,” Sherrill said. “Please stay off the roads. Don’t commit to anything Monday morning. We may still be digging out.”

According to Kris Kolluri, CEO of NJ Transit, Sherrill will get a suggestion for changes to public transit schedules on Saturday morning. The agency has already sent staff to key locations for prompt responses during the storm.

Amtrak and the agency will be in regular contact during the storm. The rail system that NJ Transit uses is run by Amtrak.

Declarations of a state of emergency do not prohibit individuals from using the roadways or mandate that they remain indoors. Rather, they enable the state to plan its emergency response, enact legislation to stop price gouging, and more.

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," according to the National Weather Service on Friday afternoon.

The organization also stated that "widespread snow and sleet accumulations of 6-16 inches are expected." "Sunday daytime snowfall rates of about 1-2 inches per hour are possible."

According to the meteorological service, those counties may see reduced snowfall totals of 8 to 12 inches due to the combination of sleet, freezing rain, and plain rain.

However, 0.1 to 0.3 inches of ice would make roads dangerous and raise the possibility of power outages due to tree branches collapsing under the weight of the ice.

According to the weather service, 12 to 16 inches of snow are still expected in northern New Jersey.