How North Jersey counties are prepping for what could be the season’s biggest snowstorm

With a storm warning looming over most of North Jersey, counties are preparing for a mix of rain and snow that will enter the region late Monday night.

While some county offices around the state are closed in observation of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday such as Morris County and Essex County, the county Offices of Emergency Management around the state are in full swing monitoring the forecast and preparing for what this next storm may bring.

As of Monday morning, most of Northern New Jersey was under a winter storm warning from the National Weather Service.

The storm is expected to start late Monday night as a mix of rain and snow near the coast and primarily snow in the interior sections of the state. Precipitation is expected to continue into Tuesday morning and taper off into late Tuesday afternoon.

Morris, Bergen, Essex, and the southern part of Passaic County are expected to receive between 8 and 12 inches of snow. The northern-most parts of the state in Sussex County and northern Passaic County are expected to receive between 10 and 12 inches, according to the National Weather Service’s Monday morning briefing.

The most impactful section of the storm is expected to occur during the Tuesday morning commute, a time that is of heavy focus right now for emergency management officials according to the Morris County OEM Director Jeffrey Paul.

“At the moment, the data is suggesting an early morning event as far as rain and snow that will likely impact the morning commute so we are planning accordingly for that and we will make some decisions later today and early tomorrow morning,” said Paul.

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Throughout Monday, Paul and his team will work with the National Weather Service, Col. Pat Callahan of the New Jersey State Police, and other state partners to craft and fine-tune a plan with each new update in the forecast.

“We’re working all day, no differently than we would for any other storm, having a bunch of calls and meetings for response and preparedness today through the evening and into tomorrow,” Paul said.

As of Monday morning, salting did not start yet in Morris County as they were still assessing the appropriate responses based on timing, temperature, and rain versus snow.

Bergen County officials are following a similar procedure with the snow removal team actively prepping and planning for the storm. As of Monday morning, the team was loading up trucks with salt and brine and preparing to hit the roads on Monday afternoon according to Derek Sands, chief of staff to Bergen County Executive James Tedesco.

Bergen County is ready to take on the storm with roughly 100 workers on call and over 100 county snowplows, salt trucks, and other vehicles available.

The county is contracted to perform snow removal for seven towns as well as county parks and facilities. For municipalities where the county does not plow, the Department of Public Works provides the municipality with salt and brine for county roads, according to Sands.

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With 300 miles of roadway that is handled by the Morris County crew, Paul is confident in their abilities.

“We have 300 miles of roadway that we are responsible for and a great road crew so we’re going to be out on the roadways doing what the crews do best and that is cleaning them up,” he said.

Throughout the remainder of Monday and into Monday night, county administrations and schools around the state will be keeping an eye on the forecast and making decisions about closures, delays, and clean-up.

For your personal safety, Paul advises that you continue to monitor local news sources and weather channels for updates.

If you absolutely have to go somewhere later Monday night or Tuesday morning, make an educated decision about whether your vehicle can handle the conditions and how comfortable you are driving in them.

“Usually, we see that is where the problem is,” said Paul. “Either we have vehicles on the road that aren’t equipped to be there or people that aren’t comfortable driving in the conditions which is where our increased emergency response comes in. We always tell people to act smart.”

Additionally, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management recommends that you have a flashlight, warm clothes, bottled water, non-perishable snacks, and a full tank of gas in your car at all times, especially during the winter in case of emergency.

They advise that you should expect travel delays, accidents, plowing and road treatment, and airport delays in situations of 6 inches or more of snow.

The NJOEM recommends that you stay indoors, stay prepared, and stay tuned to local news for updates as the storm rolls in.