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Travel 'Treacherous,' 5 Inches of Snow Possible Wednesday

Areas close to New York City could see flooding, National Weather Service reports.

By Jason Koestenblatt
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December 26, 2012

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Santa may have left plenty of goodies under the tree, but Mother Nature is about to leave a mess outside in Northern New Jersey.

According to the National Weather Service, Morris, Passaic and Bergen counties can expect anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of snow to blanket the area, with precipitation first appearing between 1 and 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Compounding the snowfall, meteorologist David Stark said, is the potential of up to a quarter-inch of ice. The storm, which may also bring wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour, won’t lighten up until sunrise Thursday, Stark said.

Essex and Union counties can expect more of a freezing rain and rain mix, which may begin as snowfall, Stark said. Those areas could also see mild to moderate flooding as a result, Stark said. Somerset County will see periods of snow and sleet Wednesday with a light accumulation, according to the National Weather Service.

Afternoon driving conditions may become “treacherous,” Stark said, as roads become slick and wind gusts could be strong enough to down trees.

The storm is progressing from Southern Pennsylvania into New Jersey and heading north, Stark said. Areas north and west, such as Sussex and Warren counties, will see a later start time to the storm, but will likely receive more snow accumulation than rain or ice, Stark said.

Related Topics: National Weather Service, Snow, and Wednesday Storm

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Pieter Prall

10:48 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

really? national weather service is saying much less. why not learn to stop frightening the innocent populace that reads your junk. do a little research before scaring the innocent...especially senior citizens.

GW

12:02 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Really? Why not put on those pretty plaid Bermuda shorts and your sandals with black socks and take a leisurely stroll in the sleet, Piet?

Jason Koestenblatt

10:51 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Thanks for the comment, Pieter. All of this information came directly from the National Weather Service. David Stark, who is quoted in this article, is a meteorologist with the NWS.

sammy

11:43 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Try looking at weather underground... wunderground.com

The most accurate and efficient. As well as exhaustive with he amount of info.

ysh

11:44 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

wunderground.com and accuweather.com both have a majority rain event for our area. @Jason, can you point us at the NWS advisory you cite?

Jason Koestenblatt

11:53 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

@ysh - Thanks for the comment. Here's a direct link to all the advisories issued by the National Weather Service today: http://alerts.weather.gov/cap/nj.php?x=1

We spoke with David Stark, meteorologist at NWS, over the phone just before 9 a.m. today, and everything you read here came directly from him. Hope this helps!

Teaneck_Resident

1:24 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Should we start complaining about PSEG yet? Ok, I'll start..PSEG the power will go out as soon as it starts raining. When can we expect it to be restored and why is your communication so poor? Restoration is probably 30 days away and communication stinks. :)

Edward P. Campbell

1:33 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

If that's true for PSE&G, then it must mean JCP&L has been out for the last 12 hours and won't be restored till 2015. JCP&L is not communicating, because they have no power to their phone, don't you know!

Nantz

1:47 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

People are already complaining about JCP&L because their lights are still on! Then they'll complain when they turn off too! Vicious circle!

stewart resmer

1:49 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

naw not yet teaneck-res, keep the pressure on the town council(s) for allowing all the trees growing through the power lines every where you look on public and private property that fall and cut off the power everytime the wind blows, then start complaining about the power companies after that.

Teaneck_Resident

2:06 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Well, my generator is gassed up and ready to go. yeah, Teaneck township has done a horrible job of tree control.

Edward P. Campbell

7:49 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

JCP&L, Strikes Again: http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2012/12/more_than_3700_monmouth_county_customers_still_without_power_thursday_morning.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Nantz

1:25 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I better run out and get that Imodium now as my stomach is a wreck after the mesquite turkey and maple ham from yesterday. Been sitting on the throne all night with no relief. I don't want to be snowed in with nothing. Could be a disaster. I trust the National Weather Service. They are trained to look and make calculated decisions that could affect millions of people! Although Weather Underground is cool, sometimes their radar is way off.

Steve

1:47 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Just a bit more personal info than we need.

Edward P. Campbell

1:26 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Me Thinks what people are missing here is this storm will bring rain, ice, snow, wind blah, blah, blah, depending where you live. So yes, we here in central Jersey, south of rt78 will likely see a rain even, with those farther north seeing snow, ice and perhaps significant amounts of both!

Patch stories tend to go out to many towns in NJ, not just the patch you are reading! Maybe Patch should label them as “ global” or “areal” or something like that to reduce the confusion.

Me

1:43 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I don't think that at all.

avidsoccer11

2:02 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I hope the NWS is wrong and we get dumped on with more than a foot of snow!!!!

Edward P. Campbell

3:12 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

What really ticked me off at PGE&G, was they ESTIMATED my power bill for the period over the 6 days I didn’t have power, however, they read my gas meter for the same period. This mean someone was at the house to read the gas meter but didn’t read the power meter at the same time, as they always do!

Or has PSE&G said – Boys we’ve got a cash flow problem here, let estimate all these bills and spread our loss over a couple months by turning our rate payers into banks we'll borrow money from them interest free, so our cash flow doesn't suffer!!!

A.S.Otero

4:02 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I had the same issue so I called PSE&G and asked about it. They said it was because so many of their personnel were tied up with the recovery effort to restore power they couldn't spare the people to have meters read. I call BS.

Edward P. Campbell

5:31 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

A.S. Otero -- I find it odd that they had a “gas” meter reader drop by, but not an “electric” meter reader when I’m pretty sure they are one in the same person. I was looking forward to the bill, just to make me feel better about not having power for 6 freezing, water-less (well bottled water only) days and I opened the bill and it is like WTF?

A.S.Otero

6:38 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

You and me both, my bill was actually estimated higher than the previous month's!!

Darlene

11:20 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Count me in - No power for 7 full days and my PSEG bill went UP. Impossible. But try challenging PSEG. It's pointless. There is something seriously wrong/corrupt with their billing practices.

Ginzano

6:41 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

I always appreciate a heads up on potential bad weather and have it sent to my phone too. I am glad I cancelled my plans for tonite as it is slick out there. I prefer weather forecasts to err on the side of worst case scenario - better than the other way around.

Nucky Thompson

7:09 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

When I was a youngster, I walked 2 miles to the school bus stop and when the snow was over my boots, I thought it was teriffic! No rides in a warm SUV, no cell phone calls to Mom complaining that my feet or hands were cold, no IPad games to play on the bus or at school, no GPS to tell me the way home. We all survived and had a damn good time. I'm all for technological advances, but let the kids have some fun!

Donald

8:56 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

When I was a youngster, I walked in the snow three miles each way, to and from a small country school . . . and it was uphill BOTH ways! I didn't have boots, so my stepmom would tie old newspapers around my hand-me-down, threadbare Keds.

Once I came down with scarlet fever and whooping cough at school after walking there in a REALLY heavy snow, the kind they used to have before global warming. The schoolmarm was afraid the other kids would catch it all, so she made me stand outside in the deep drifts all day, until it was time to walk home. But it wasn't too bad because the fever kept me from getting too cold.

When it came time to go home, there was a whiteout and I became lost, but finally found my way after dusk and crawled up the steps to our cabin near the county pound. My stepmom wanted to know why I was so late, and yelled at me for not bringing home my homework. She was so angry, she didn't let me play with the two mice that lived in the wall behind the bed I shared with my three brothers!

Boy, I miss those good times.

clyde donovan

9:27 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

When "Donald" got a little older he walked 5 miles in the snow to score some weed.

Kimberly

7:46 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Pieter Prall: I hope you eating your words now!!! Yes, this was a storm to be warned of and yes you should be frightened into staying home. I was driving in this (coming home from a family Christmas) and honestly, it was a dumb move!! Took 3 times as long as it should have!
THanks for the report!!

Selene

11:55 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012

This snow produced some very slippery roads. I always tell my kids, drive in 1st or 2nd (possible with most automatic transmissions too) the vehicle hugs the road better and stopping is easy, with little brakng......just ease off the accelerator. With all season tires in good condition you will fare safely on these snowy days. Reduce youur speed according to road conditionds AND always leave LOTS of room between your car and the car ahead of you. Snow is no reason to panic---

Edward P. Campbell

8:58 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Great Advice Selene, here’s some more:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/driving-on-snow-and-ice-10-safety-tips.html

One piece of advice I didn’t see offered is Clean Your Windows (all of them) before you start down the road. I know of a young girl who was killed pulling out in front of a pick-up truck she didn’t see because her drivers side window wasn’t cleared. How sad!

Peter W Bennett

7:20 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

I am supposed to conduct an energy survey at a resident's home in your town. Do you have power today?

Edward P. Campbell

8:44 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Most people who write here, including myself, could use a Tebow lesson in God’s Grace, which I believe is installed in each of us, but it is up to each of us to use or not, Lord knows I’ve not used mine enough.

“ When the Denver Broncos kicked him to the curb after rallying a 1-4 team to the playoffs, replacing him with a future, albeit injured Hall of Famer, Tebow lashed back at his former team by saying, "First and foremost, I just want to thank the Denver Broncos for my time there." And then, "I understand what they were going through. You don't get many opportunities to have a chance to sign Peyton Manning. What a great quarterback he is."

May peace fill the world in 2013!

FourScore

9:21 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Oh, you mean Tim Tebow, the guy who constantly flaunts his praying habits in front of tens of thousands of people, even though his bible specifically states that prayer should be performed in private?

Edward P. Campbell

12:00 pm on Thursday, December 27, 2012

No, I think he is more directed by

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

"16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

You should read Matthew Chapter 6. I will give you a better idea of what was really said about praying in private!

Happy New Year!

Teaneck_Resident

10:21 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

I'm amazed my area didn't loose power. I was ready for a power outage I'm just amazed.

John

11:10 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

I am chagrined. I called the Westwood High School main office to inquire about a loaner generator. They told me they have changed their policy on loaners. So I inquired about a loaner vehicle, same thing, new policy in effect. :)

Joseph Keyes

11:45 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Seems like JCP&L was spared another embarrassing opportunity to demonstrate their abilities during an outage.

Nose Wayne

9:20 pm on Thursday, December 27, 2012

It's just the start of winter, give JCP&L another storm and see how many people lose power compared to PSE&G. My money is on PSE&G, They came through the neighborhood the other day and trimmed all the trees close to the wires. Never lost power during Sandy either.