Live coverage of snow in NJ: Here's what we're seeing
A nor'easter blasted its way up the Atlantic Coast on Saturday, dropping more than a foot of snow in parts of the state, and even more in New England, which saw gale-force winds and widespread power outages.
In North Jersey, which took a glancing blow from the storm, the National Weather Service predicted snow would taper off after 1 p.m., with "gradual clearing" during the early evening. Accuweather predicted light snow would fall until 6 p.m. in much of northern New Jersey, at a rate of about 0.2 inches per hour.
After the snow stops, however, the winds will continue to blow it around, making driving hazardous. The winds will die down by mid-evening when temperatures will drop into the high single digits for northeastern New Jersey and colder for northwestern areas of the state.
The cold weather and winds will produce wind chill equivalent temperatures of zero or below, according to the NWS forecasts. The northwesterly winds will range from 20-30 mph with gusts 30-40 mph leading to possible power outages caused by falling branches.
Sunday will be cold, followed by a warming trend next week with temperatures rising each day in front of the next storm expected to bring rain on Wednesday evening.
Much of this weekend's snow could be gone by the end of the week but there is the possibility of minor flooding as snow melt combines with rain.
Here's what else we know about the present storm:
How much snow in NJ?
Bergenfield had a total of 6.9 inches by the end of the day, according to the National Weather Service. The record for snowfall on Jan. 29 for the borough had been just 0.5 inches of snow, according to Bob Ziff of the North Jersey Weather Observers.
The Weather Observers had a slightly different total for Bergenfield, measuring 6 inches of snow. Ziff's group measured 6.5 inches of snow in Harrison, 3.3 inches in Wayne, 2.7 inches in Ramsey, 8 inches in Elizabeth and 3.5 inches in Sparta.
Ramsey reported 13 degrees with a wind chill of minus 3 degrees at 8 a.m., when winds were gusting to 22 mph.
By noon, Paramus had 4 inches of snow, West Milford had 5.1 inches as of 3 p.m., and and Toms River had over a foot of snow.
MORE SNOW TOTALS: How many inches of snow have fallen in North Jersey so far?
Morris and Sussex counties had between 2 to 4 inches of snow by 10 a.m.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly reported 4.7 inches of snow in Fair Lawn as of 2:40 p.m.
Mall openings delayed
Major malls are open in North Jersey, but some reported delayed openings. Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus will open at 1:30 p.m.; Willowbrook Mall in Wayne and the Shops at Riverside in Hackensack were both scheduled to open at noon. Paramus Park reported no delays.
The storm is expected to continue through Saturday evening with blizzard conditions affecting the coastal parts of the state. Though North Jersey's predicted snowfall has grown, the region will still miss the worst of the storm. Farther south near the Jersey Shore, parts of the area could get up to 18 inches of snow.
A state of emergency is still in effect.
State of emergency
Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm Friday. The order took effect at 5 p.m. Friday. Murphy urged all residents to stay off the roads if possible.
Snow storm: How does a state of emergency in New Jersey affect me?
Commuting and travel
New Jersey Department of Transportation issued a commercial vehicle travel restriction on multiple Interstate highways in New Jersey on Friday. The commercial vehicle travel restriction applies to all tractor-trailers, empty straight CDL-weighted trucks, passenger vehicles pulling trailers, recreational vehicles, and motorcycles.
Notice is for the following highways in both directions:
I-76, entire length from the Walt Whitman Bridge (Pennsylvania border) to Route 42
I-78, entire length from the Pennsylvania border to I-95 (New Jersey Turnpike)
I-80, entire length from the Pennsylvania border to I-95 (New Jersey Turnpike)
I-195, entire length from I-295 to NJ Route 138
I-280, entire length from I-80 to I-95 (New Jersey Turnpike)
I-287, entire length from NJ Route 440 to the New York State border
I-295, entire length from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to the Scudders Falls Bridge (Pennsylvania border)
I-676, from the Ben Franklin Bridge (Pennsylvania border) to I-76
NJ Route 440, from the Outerbridge Crossing to I-287
NJ Transit temporarily suspended all bus, River Line and Access Link services at the start of the service day on Saturday. Service was anticipated to resume later in the day.
Rail service, Newark Light Rail and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will remain on regular weekend schedules for as long as conditions allow, although Hudson-Bergen Light Rail is subject to delays up to 20 minutes due to weather-related issues. Tickets will be cross-honored for rail, light rail, NJ Transit bus and private carriers.
State officials urge the public to stay off roads. If you need to drive, experts say to travel with an emergency kit in case you get stranded on impassible roads. Cars should stay off the roads to the greatest extent possible to expedite snow removal.
Flights canceled
The storm is wreaking havoc at the Metro New York airports.
More: Widespread flight cancellations due to snow at JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports
The winter storm had nearly shuttered the three major Metro New York airports on Saturday morning. As of 12:30 p.m., 2,085 flights into and out of Newark, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports had been canceled.
Newark Liberty International Airport, which had 4.5 inches of snow by 9 a.m., is reporting that more than 90% of outgoing flights have been canceled.
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LaGuardia Airport reported that 97% of its scheduled flights had been canceled due to the storm. By 9 a.m., the airport had 5.3 inches of snow.
Travelers are advised to contact their airline to confirm their flight and allow extra time to get to the airport.
"You should ONLY travel to the airport if you have a confirmed flight," warned Newark Liberty International Airport on Twitter Friday.
Warnings and advisories
Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties are all under a winter storm warning from the National Weather Service until 7 p.m. Morris and Sussex, which are not expected to get quite as much snow, are under winter weather advisories with the possibility of blowing and drifting snow.
The strongest winds are set for Saturday with scattered tree damage and power outages, especially near the coast, expected across the state. Blowing snow and reduced visibility is also predicted for Saturday.
Essex County:
Bloomfield, NJ: 7 inches
Caldwell, NJ: 7 inches
Millburn, NJ: 7 inches
Newark, NJ: 8 inches
Orange, NJ: 7 inches
Morris County:
Morristown, NJ: 6 inches
Dover, NJ: 6 inches
Madison, NJ: 7 inches
Florham Park, NJ: 7 inches
Passaic County:
Ringwood, NJ: 6 inches
West Milford, NJ: 5 inches
Sussex County:
Hopatcong, NJ: 5 inches
Newton, NJ: 4 inches
Franklin, NJ: 5 inches
Stanhope, NJ: 5 inches
Worse weather at Jersey Shore
The storm pummeled Ocean and Monmouth counties beginning Friday night, when the Jersey Shore was under its first blizzard warning from the National Weather Service in more than four years.
Live Jersey Shore snowstorm updates: What we know about the blizzard so far
As much as a foot and a half of snow fell along the coast, with Bayville in Ocean County registering 21 inches, and Spring Lake Heights in Ocean County receiving 17 inches.
Liam Quinn is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Email: quinnl@northjersey.com
Twitter: @Liam_D_Quinn
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ winter storm: What we know about the snow in North Jersey
