Saturday Evening Princeton Blizzard Update

hopewell tree down
PSE&G crews repair power lines on Bear Tavern Road in Hopewell. Photo courtesy of the Hopewell Township Police Department.

 

As of Saturday night, Central New Jersey roads are still impassible and plow crews will need most of the day Sunday to clear them. Many area police chiefs are urging residents to stay home Saturday night and all day Sunday. A blizzard warning is still in effect for our area. Check out great blizzard photos from dozens of Planet Princeton readers here.

Drifting snow is making travel extremely hazardous. Visibility is poor, and numerous vehicles have gotten stuck in the snow. The roads are extremely slipper because there is a layer of ice under the snow. How bad is it? It is so bad that a big plow truck slid off the road and into a ditch on Cold Soil Road Saturday afternoon. Cold Soil Road is closed and so is Quaker Road.

As of 7 p.m. Saturday, New Jersey State Police have handled 231 crashes and 1,047 calls for aid on state roads.

Snowfall

More than 20 inches of snow has fallen in some Central New Jersey towns, and at least another four inches or more is expected, with the storm winding down at about 4 or 5 a.m.  Additional accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are expected west of I-95 and north of I-195 in
addition to what has already fallen, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly. To the south and east of that area, additional accumulations up to 4 inches are expected in addition to what has already fallen. Storm total snowfall ranging from 18 to 30 inches with
isolated amounts up to 36 inches are possible.

For Sunday, sunny and dry weather is expected with high temperatures in the lower to mid 30s. This will lead to snow melting and the ponding of water. This water will then re-freeze Sunday night when low temperatures plunge into the teens region-wide. Untreated roadways and walkways, particularly bridges and overpasses, will become slippery. This could impact the Monday morning commute.

Power Outages

Power outages will continue due to snow clinging to trees and wires, as well as windy conditions, especially near the coast. Back Bay and Ocean front flooding will continue during high tide Saturday night, and for Sunday morning’s high tide. Expect widespread coastal and back bay flooding with road closures and possible property damage.

Northeast wind gusts of 30 to 45 miles per hour are expected Saturday night for the Central New Jersey area.

If you lose power call PSE&G at 1-800-436-PSEG (7734). Many JCP&L customers in Hopewell were without power this afternoon. If you are a JCP&L customer and you lose power, call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877).

PSE&G responded to scattered power outages in Princeton, Ewing, and Hamilton Square today as well as other areas. As of Saturday evening, about 164 PSE&G customers were without power despite the continuing blizzard conditions. The utility’s serves 2.2 million electric customers and 1.8 million gas customers. Princeton residents who lost power praised PSE&G for the prompt response. As of 7:30 p.m., a handful of Princeton residents in the N. Harrison Street area were without power. The estimated restoration time is 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, but work crews have been beating estimates by several hours so far.

JCP&L crews responded to scattered power outages throughout Hopewell Valley on Saturday. Crews were able to restore power to most residents quickly. The company said Saturday night that power will be restored to all customers by 9 p.m. Sunday.  As of Saturday night,  71,000 customers have had their power restored and 16,000 customers remain without power. The majority of those customers are in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Travel

NJ Transit rail, buses, lightrail, and access link are still suspended and will be until officials decide it is safe to restore service, and federal inspectors have inspected railroad tracks.

Some SEPTA train lines are running, but most are still shut down. You can view the latest updates here.

PATH rail service is suspended between the Newark and Grove Street stations due to the snowstorm, with service still available between Grove Street and Hoboken, the World Trade Center and the uptown 33rd Street line in Manhattan. Trains are operating with delays. Service will resume between Grove Street and Newark as weather conditions allow.

The Port Authority Bus Terminal is closed. Passengers should confirm departure and arrival times with the carriers before traveling to the either terminal.

All arriving and departing flights at Philadelphia Airport, LaGuardia, JFK International, Newark Liberty International, Stewart International, Atlantic City International and Teterboro Airport have been cancelled due to the severe winter weather conditions. With the exception of Teterboro Airport, all airports remain open. Airline passengers should confirm flight times, departures and arrivals with the airline carriers before traveling to the airports. Frontier Airlines flights out of Trenton-Mercer Airport have been suspended.

AirTrain JFK is temporarily suspended. The Port Authority has initiated bus operations. AirTrain Newark is also temporarily suspended. The Port Authority has initiated bus operations for passengers. AirTrain cars will continue to operate without passengers to keep rails in operating condition.

Tunnels and Bridges

All Port Authority bridges and  tunnels are closed and salting and plowing operations are underway. A travel ban for all non-emergency vehicles went into effect as of 2:30 p.m. for all of New York City, including all bridges and tunnels.

All port facilities are closed, and will remain closed until Monday, Jan. 25. One World Observatory and 9/11 Memorial are also  closed due to severe weather conditions.

Sunday Events

Most area churches are closed this Sunday because of the storm. Check before you go. Nassau Presbyterian Church, Trinity Princeton, and the Princeton United Methodist Church have all announced that they will be closed Sunday.
Even though police have asked people to stay off the roads on Sunday, many businesses and organizations are waiting to see what Sunday morning holds before making a decision on whether to remain closed. Check back with Planet Princeton Sunday morning and we will post an updated list of openings and closing.
Terhune Orchards as of now still plans to hold the annual Wassailing Festival Sunday afternoon. Check back for updates.
Princeton Special Sports is canceled for Sunday, January 24.
All events in the Princeton Public Schools cancelled for Sunday, January 24th.

The PAWS wrestling home meet at Princeton High School scheduled for Sunday has been canceled.

The Grounds For Sculpture will be closed  Sunday.

All Montgomery Township School District activities are cancelled for Sunday, including all events sponsored by community groups who use school district facilities.

In South Brunswick, all recreational programs have been canceled. The South Brunswick Senior Center is closed. All activities at at the South Brunswick School District have been canceled. The public library is closed.

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Avatar of Krystal Knapp

Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.